Fair Play
by LittleMissReaper
Summary: SetoJoey, but not for a while. For now they hate each other and have the hots for each other. Joey is a youth director at the DCPA. Mokuba is bisexual. Joey is manning a testicular cancer awareness booth. Want to know where this is going? READ.
1. Feel my balls?

Author's Note: The first fic I've written in a while, and it seems that I'm still stuck on that same old pairing...Well, here's hoping that someone else likes it too.

The Rub: Basically a series of interactions between Seto and Joey at and following a health fair.

Rating: PG-13...maybe I should give it R just to be safe...some inuendo and language.

Fair Play

Chapter One: Feel My Balls?

Joseph James Wheeler looked down at the fake testicles that the students were supposed to be finding cancer in.  
How long did it take a girl to go to the bathroom? She had better get back before-  
Too late. Not wearing his trench coat and looking unbelievably skinny in all black, a certain CEO of a certain major corporation was walking in his direction. Joey looked down at his shirt. Grreeeeaaaat. It read, "I dig scrawny pale guys"  
He sighed in relief, for a moment the other boy had stopped at another table, signing a petition of some sort. Bent over….with his ass thrust out.

Oh dear. Joey couldn't decide, these things either happened far too often or not nearly enough. The brunette righted himself. No, don't stand up, stay there, really, it's fine…  
Fuck.  
He was walking towards Joey's table again.  
That smirk. That saunter, it all just pissed him off so much (not to mention the sexy swivel it added to the CEO's hips.  
The smirk widened exponentially as Kaiba examined the table.  
"You're running a testicular cancer awareness booth? Is that why you don't have any balls"  
"Actually I'm manning this for my friend Tahnya until she gets back. You're welcome to wait for her. She should only be a minute"  
Kaiba's eyes widened. Tahnya? What guy would subject himself to this for only a friend?  
Hn. Not that I care. The brunette bent over and plucked a small brown blob off the table. He rolled in around his palm. "What's this, mutt"  
"Why, look familiar?" Seto raised an eyebrow in annoyance. "It's a cancerous testicle"  
Kaiba dropped it, and it seemed at even gravity was under his control, the thing fell so swiftly.  
"Oh come on Kaiba! It's just a model, and besides, find the cancer, win a prize"  
"What's the prize"  
"A greater understanding of your body." Joey grinned.  
"I'll pass"  
"And since that doesn't motivate teenagers, you get this!" He held up a giant bag of candy. "I'll even let you chose what kind, and if you lay off the dog comments, I'll give you two pieces"  
"Again, I'll pass"  
"You're afraid to touch balls? No wonder you're so pissy"  
The CEO, who had been leaving, turned back to the blonde, only to find one of the testicles flying at him. He caught it and stomped back, but stopped at the softer look on Joey's face.  
"Seriously Kaiba, this isn't something to mess around with. It's good to know how to do"  
"It's not going to happen to me"  
"Because you're rich? Because you're famous? Because you're young? Because you're the invincible Seto Kaiba? I don't think you're above disease. Think about Lance Armstrong. Just try it, ok? You get candeh!" He held up the bag again, grinning.  
The CEO growled, then sighed, giving in. He swiftly rolled the ball around in his palm for a few moments, before jabbing it roughly with his thumb. The abusive treatment of the testicle continued as he searched out the cancer, and it made Joey cringe inwardly. "Dude, do you have balls of steel or something? You're killing it"  
The CEO ignored him. Finally his eyes widened slightly and he held it out to Joey, indicating with his thumb. "There"  
The blonde reached out and felt for a few seconds, then retracted his hand. "Congratulations Seto Kaiba, you have just found your vas deferens." He was now laughing hysterically, nearly doubled over. "Fine, you do it then." He whipped the ball at Joey, then crossed his arms in a huff. It hit Joey in the chest, making a small dull thud upon hitting muscle. He picked it up from where it landed on the table. He gently rolled it into his hand, holding it, not at a height, but at an angle and position as though it were attached to a body. He grazed his thumb over it, slowly, smoothly, deliberately. Seto had to swallow hard to rid himself of the lump in his throat. Finally, the brown eyes focused again (he found it easier to concentrate on touch when he wasn't looking at anything). He tapped the spot lightly. "Here. Feel"  
The CEO only felt it because of how dazed he was, still stuck on the sweet way that Joey bit his lip when concentrating. He nodded, indicating that he did indeed feel the small protrusion that wasn't meant to be there. Joey finally set the ball down and held out the bag of candy.  
"I lost"  
"You were a good sport. Consolation prize"  
"Pity prize. No thanks"  
"Ugh." Joey reached into the bag, chose three pieces and shoved them into the plastic health fair bag the CEO held. "Take it. And check out my table later. It's on the other side of the room"  
"Why wo-" He was then cut off at a voluptuous, full breasted woman with curly black hair came running up to Joey. She kissed him on the cheek."Joseph. Thank you so much for manning my table. You have no idea how many people try to steal the balls"  
He ignored her comments. "Geeze woman, how long does it take you to take a piss? You were gone forever"  
Seto's eyes widened. He had never heard the blonde talk this way to anyone, let alone a girl. "I'm sorry! They gave me a hassle about using the men's room! I had to find the unisex one in the nurses office and someone was in there throwing up"  
"Fine, congratulations though"  
Her voice went high pitched and he arms moved close to her chest, her hands grasping each other tightly as she jumped up and down. "I know! I pass! EEEeeeeeeeEEEE!" Oh. It was a man then. A she-man. Oh. Seto was very confused. Ok…I'll be going then. "Ok Tahnya sweetie, I've got to get back to my table, keep basking in your womanliness"  
"See you Jo-Jo"  
The blonde rolled his eyes and began walking around the outside of the room, over and around backpacks and people, in the path made behind all of the tables.  
Tahnya looked up at the confused Seto. She grinned evilly. "Would you like to feel my balls?"

End.

Please review.


	2. What he wants and what he needs

Author's Notes: I have the next chapter written, but I'm delaying posting it. I want to get the third one finished first (the next chapter is 2.5). Please, I'd really like a few more reviews. I don't have a goal of ten per chapter or anything, just, two or three would be nice. I'd like to know where people want or expect this to go. I have a vague (very vague) outline, but no ending yet. Well, here you go.

Disclaimer: Plot and quotes are mine, characters and YuGiOh as a concept belong to Kazuki Takashi (sp).

Chapter Two: What he wants and what he needs.

Finally shaking the cross-dressing Tahnya off him, Seto meandered his way around the room. He stopped at only a few tables. There was a health clinic visiting that was drawing blood for cholesterol screenings, Seto had it done, he'd seen both his parent's medical records and while otherwise healthy, their cholesterol hadn't been great. He took packets on healthy eating and free samples from a table set up by a local health food store. He munched on sugar-free vegan chocolate covered soy nuts as he went further. There was a table about herpes, directed at women, and a table about AIDS/HIV directed at negative people for research. He took one of their pamphlets. He passed over the tables about smoking, drugs, alcohol and health insurance. He had no disposition for the first three, pre or otherwise, and the last, he had no need for, seeing as he and Mokuba were already covered under Kaiba Corp.

He took some information from a large display on depression (it took up two tables), he had been worried about Mokuba, but from what the papers said, his little brother was just suffering (and loudly) from normal teen angst, still, Seto did need to be there for him more. Even if it wasn't life and death, it was life and it was serious and important to his little brother. He'd try to be more understanding in the future. Happy with this planned reform, the CEO continued moving along the tables, signing a privacy act and a free speech petition along the way.

He may not appear it, but the CEO was quite leftist (Well…excluding economics. He quite favored tax reforms that were good for big business, as long as they were morally and environmentally sound, that is. Seto Kaiba may not be the nicest person to work with one on one, but Kaiba Corp employees could never complain about their pay or benefits. They were well taken care of).

Three tables about sex and another about smoking later, Seto finally met Joey's passion. There was a large and blindingly colorful sign on the front of the table that read, "Domino City Pride Alliance."

The blonde grinned at him.

There was a large bowl of condoms sitting there.

"How'd you leave this table for so long without having all the condoms stolen?"

"Oh, I had my man Todd look after the table, he's actually one of the higher ups for the DCPA. I'm just a lowly youth coordinator."

His man? It was now that the CEO noticed Joey's shirt. I dig pale skinny guys. His throat tightened. Ohhh. That was hot.

Snapping the boy out of it, Joey began to speak. "You know, at the center, we've actually had whole youth meetings dedicated to which of the boys is more in love with you. I think they're more vicious than fan girls."

"I have fan guys?"

"At least ten. They'd be your harem if you'd let them."

Seto blushed deeply. "So what is all this?"

"Information, loads of it. There are calendars about local events. Event specific fliers. Pamphlets about coming out, dealing with someone who just has, about the bible, transgender, safe sex, how to prepare your lover, the whole he-bang."

"Oh…"

"Yeah. We have a lot more information than people generally think. Take anything you want, and feel free to ask any questions."

"You're awfully professional, Mutt. You're not going to hound me with questions about why I even bothered to come over here?"

"I have to be professional. I've been to ten or so health fairs, I've set up tables for high school and college events, local things, even general street fairs. And I don't ask questions, none of us do. We're here to help and accept, not judge. You can tell me whatever you want, but I'm not allowed to ask anything with specifics."

The CEO was confused, floored by the maturity of his rival. "Mokuba is bisexual."

"I know."

"What?" Kaiba snapped, looking furious in an instant, the mutt would not have touched his brother, would he?

"He comes to the meetings sometimes. He's a good kid. Look, take some of the condoms. They don't expire for at least two years. They're not gay specific or anything. Use them if you want. Take some of the packets on homosexuality and bisexuality too, and take my card. I can't tell you anything that Mokuba tells me, but I can help you figure out what he says to you or hook you up with someone you're comfortable talking to. Oh, and can you bring him this? It's his visor he left at the center." It had a large orange letter Q on it.

The CEO growled at how much the blonde was saying and more than that, how much he was being told to do.

"Go, before I teach you how to prepare a lover using the fake anus."

Kaiba snorted, but walked away quickly when Joey reached under the table, presumably for the fake anus.

He stopped at another booth on teen sexuality. The "owner" of it was busy glaring at a "Not me, Not Now"/abstinence only campaign one table over, so he was free to look at his leisure without being questioned or harassed.

There was a poster board about safe sex. There were couples kissing, a boy and a girl, both fairly attractive, and absolutely naked. A guy and a guy, obviously intimate. Two girls, kissing passionately. Then there was a blonde man, hands trailing down the front of unbuttoned jeans. Oh god. It wasn't, but looked sort of like Joey.

Seto looked away, focusing on the wonderfully distracting packets on STDs. He took one of each, also ones on safely expressing sexuality, how to say no when you want and how to be consistent.

It was hard for him to admit, but these things were as much for himself as his cover, Mokuba.

After ambling about for a while, he found himself back at Joey's table. A more petite man was standing behind it with the blonde. He had read hair and an honest smile as he demonstrated the proper way to put on a condom (on a wooden model) and how anal stimulation works. Joey was meanwhile giving out pins and pamphlets, taking donations and answering questions. He balked slightly when he saw Seto looming behind the small crowd of girls.

There was a decent size stack of books on the corner of the table, apparently they arrived with the return of Todd, Joey's presumed lover. Seto immersed himself in them. As the girls dispersed, Joey changed his attention to the CEO. Find anything interesting?

"I didn't know that there were gay books." He replied.

"We have a whole library at the center. At least five hundred. I've probably read more than half of them, they're amazing. We have fictional, religious, psychology, health texts, emotional safety and awareness, pretty much everything."

"Sexual?"

"It's a sexual orientation, so yeah." The blonde didn't blush.

"Why do you call it orientation?"

"Sexual preference implies that we have a choice in the matter, Sexual persuasion says that something made us this way and thereby, something could change us back, but orientation…it's like a compass, the needle doesn't decide where it points, it just does." Joey smiled brightly.

"Oh."

"You can keep asking if you have anymore questions. As long as I'm behind this table I'm not your rival, I'm Joseph James Wheeler, youth coordinator."

"I don't really have anymore questions. I just want to keep looking through the books."

"Alright, just so you know, those are for sale, a donation to the youth center of ten dollars or more. Or you could always stop by the center and borrow them from the library."

"Hn. Any other self promotions?" Seto snorted.

"Well, now that you ask…"Joey grinned. Man, this guy was in for it. "We're having a spring cleaning day on the twelfth, Mokuba is signed up to help with that, and there is a drag show on the thirtieth. Other than that this is a pretty dull month."

"Hn. Ok. I'll remind Mokuba."

"He already knows, it was an invitation to you."

"I'm not gay."

"You don't need to tell me that, I don't really care. We're short handed, and your brother is involved, I thought you might be interested in helping. I guess not." Joey frowned at him.

Just then Yugi walked up, looking at the both of them and noticing the downward turns of their mouths. "Are you guys fighting again?"

"Hardly." Seto grumbled. He brought out his wallet, threw down some bills and took the five books he had separated in his browsing of the stack. The CEO stomped away, not saying a further word to either of his rivals.

Yugi looked to his best friend. "Is he still there?"

"Yeah, damn thought invading bastard." The blonde began to count out the bills. Three hundred dollars for five books. Whoa. He had to give a damn. He showed the money to Todd, then locked it up. That donation would mean a lot to the center. It couldn't pay for rent or anything, but new books, second hand furniture for the kids to relax on, resources, even education for the workers. Seto had to know what he was doing. Not just in donating the money (a paltry sum to him) but in his movements.

AN: Can't make you, and I won't beg, but reviews are nice. Like candy. Only I can take it from strangers. Oh, and I'm changing my author name. Probably. So…maybe don't search for that (if you did).

Thank god the paragraph spacings came out this time, if not the indentations.


	3. Seto Kaiba's logic: An oxymoron

Author's Note: Having a lot of trouble finishing chapter three (I might have said this before, but I don't remember, I'm trying to keep a few chapters ahead). Oh, link your friends/favourite authors to this story if you like it!

Disclaimer: Yugioh isn't mine. It will never be mine.

Fair Play

Chapter Two point five: Seto's Logic. An oxymoron?

It did turn out however, that the CEO was unaware of how his motions affected the blonde. He had no idea that the running of his lithe fingers through his hair made the boy's throat seize. No clue that bending over, displaying his tight, small bottom made Joey's muscles tense with anticipation. He didn't know how his arms and shoulders, the expanse of his back and chest made the blonde sigh like a bad romance novel. Yeah. Joey had it bad. Luckily he believed that a bit of lust was good for the skin, and didn't think it anymore than that.

Even just a few hours later, as Joey was clearing off the table for tear down, Seto was locked in his room, reading his newly acquired books. It was no surprise or shock to him that he was open to the idea of a homosexual relationship. He supposed that never having consciously identified as straight lessoned the trauma of realizing he could just as easily be aroused by a man. What did cause him stress, was in finding out that the first person to really turn him on in some time, in fact, the only person who excited him to such a magnitude was the mutt, the puppy, Joey Wheeler. It was a puzzle, as was the general topic of his personal sexuality. Said puzzle however, was one that he had been trying to break for sometime now.

As a general rule he considered himself fairly sexual, a roadblock to this conclusion (one his logic had easily walked around) was his lack of experience, save a short relationship with a fun toy, a girl he had kissed briefly in middle school and of course, his constant friend, his right hand. He was also rapidly discovering how uneducated in sex he was. Besides his times alone with lotion and tissues he had never seen the importance of knowing anything about sex. It was something he had always expected to learn on his own or be taught by a partner and he never knew the danger of this plan. True to Kaiba standards he was ashamed, then moved quickly to anger at his lack or foresight. He had been unprepared, stupid and had put himself at risk for things that simply didn't happen to Seto Kaiba.

He tried to ignore the pulsing problem that arose as he read the books before him. Every act the sex ones mentioned was immediately related to Joey, evaluated for how fun it would be, how comfortable, would the puppy like it? The life stories ones made him dream of walking on the beach with the blonde.

Seto had given up scolding himself some time ago. Testosterone was a frighteningly powerful force and had proven him many times to be beneath it. He figured lusting was fine, only stupidly acting on it (interpersonally) was a weakness. After all, it was just lust, regardless of how his image of the mutt had improved this very day.

End Chapter

No threats, no begging, just please review.


	4. Skill or lack of Stamina?

Author's Note: You may notice that I changed my pen name, I was just getting sick of the old one, so from now on (or at least a little while) it's LittleMissReaper. Anyway, as to the fic, sorry that it's been so long, but I already have chapter four written and I'll post it after I get a few reviews (please note that to me a few is two or three). Please, if you have any suggestions, constructive criticism or ideas of where you want this to go, give them. I ran out of steam for a little while and I'm still not quite sure where this is going to end up. Well, read on.

Fair Play

Chapter Three: Skill, or lack of stamina?

Five days later he had only passed two of the books on to Mokuba. This was only after reading and rereading them, taking notes and finally, scanning choice sections into his computer.

He had reached a conclusion though. Sort of.

Five days is an unbelievably short time in which to come to terms with one's sexuality, but did Seto Kaiba ever do anything slowly?

So after this five days of only rarely genius thought processing, by the always genius elder Kaiba, he had come to a conclusion and was as ready as one could be to tell one's younger brother about his sexuality.

What he had puzzled out of his private thoughts, fantasies, actions, hormones and urges was this. He might be gay. He could also be bi. He could even (though less likely) be straight. Hetero-flexible maybe.

Yes, this is what five days of intense thought, reading and research had brought him. A maybe. Seto Kaiba, the man who brought a company of war to the biggest and best gaming company on earth, Seto Kaiba, the seventeen year old prodigy, who would throw himself headlong into any project, forgetting to eat or sleep until it was finished to perfection, had wasted five days and had come up with a maybe.

It did make some sense though, to him at least. He knew that having no…hands on experience with the same sex didn't mean that you were straight, but he still couldn't forget the total lack of facts in the case. He had kissed one girl. That wasn't all that great (he still insisted that she had overactive salivary glands and should be seeing a specialist. This of course was the cause of the dissatisfaction in the situation, not a disinclination towards her sex). One girl, and he couldn't even say that he'd been all that attracted to her in the first place. Yes, there had been something of a partiality on his front…but he had to admit, it may have had something to do with the willingness of her person and likewise, her willingness to keep it private. He didn't look back with fondness on that decision, it was weak of him…And disgusting.

But as to other, stronger attractions, there had been a few. Regardless of how little he wished to have in common with the human race, Seto Kaiba was a teenage boy, especially in his glands and in his pants. Unbound testosterone produced the same reaction in him as in anyone else. He got horny, and proving his distain for the situation, he had managed his drives and desires well (with the exception of the aforementioned incident). He never liked celebrities, never watching movies or TV to know them, but guys at school, watched from a distance, peaked his interest, among other things.

His honest sexuality though? This was hard to pinpoint, because while he had been aroused by, even attracted to these people, they had always been faces, bodies, with names at the very most. Never personalities. As everyone constantly said, he was a cold hearted bastard. He didn't form relationships of any kind, and were he to be brutal to himself, he would find that the closest things to relationships he had were the protective love he had for his brother, the agree to disagree agreement he seemed to have forged with Yugi, and whatever he had with Joey, that not hate, annoyed confusion. No one else held even an insignificant part of his time being thought about, they may as well not exist in the mind of one Seto Kaiba.

It was just so complicated. It really shouldn't be. Why couldn't it be black and white, something you were or weren't, plain as day? No, instead it required introspection and self discovery. As selfish and borderline narcissistic as he was, Seto Kaiba did not like to think about himself.

He did not like to admit things. He did not like to have feelings. He did not like to be confused.

However, he found himself confidently leaning towards one side, and so, the final book his brother would be receiving (the remaining two had been deemed too explicit) tucked under one arm, he began his decent down the stairs.

When Mokuba had come out to him as bisexual, there wasn't much thought in it for Seto, there were however some assumptions and some basic facts.

The facts:

Mokuba was his little brother, he would always be his little brother, Seto would always love his little brother, hence he would always love Mokuba.

The assumptions:

Mokuba was confused.

Mokuba was having sex.

The facts yes, turned out to be true, the assumptions however, couldn't be more wrong. Mokuba was confident and sure of his sexuality. He knew that he was attracted to and could love both men and women. He had known this for some time, from puppy crushes and his first stirrings of hormones, but at thirteen he came out to his older brother. He was not having sex. He didn't even have a boy/girlfriend. He was hopelessly in lust, with his math teacher, this was obviously going no where.

Once Seto had come to terms with the incorrectness of his assumptions, he managed to convey, mostly through gruff sentence fragments, the facts. Mokuba hugged him, smiled and went to his room, only asking if the elder wanted any pamphlets, books or information. The offer had been turned down.

But Seto now found his brother in the living room, staring entranced at the television where buff CG men were playing volleyball at his control. Seto cleared his throat and Mokuba paused the game, his player missing the ball just before he did so.

"Yes big brother?"

Seto smiled a little at the old endearment. He must really look like crap if his brother had regressed to calling him that. "Hey Moki, would you like some ice cream?"

"Is something wrong?" Mokuba asked gently. Now, to most this would seem an odd jump from one place to another, but in the Kaiba household, ice cream meant something was up. It was a tradition of sorts. When their parent's had been alive, ice cream was reserved for special occasions, happy or sad, and now, in the broken version of a family they were ice cream held an odd significance. They had eaten green tea ice cream when they returned home from duelist kingdom, talking about souls, lost and found. When Mokuba came out, there was no ice cream to be found, only rainbow sherbert. Today, opening the freezer, all that looked back at him was Rocky Road. Kaiba smirked sarcastically at it before taking it out and throwing it onto the counter (a bit harshly, in Mokuba's opinion). The elder Kaiba dished out two bowls and sat opposite his brother at their small kitchen table.

They ate the first spoonfuls in silence, as was custom, and it was finally Mokuba that broke the nearly solid quiet around them.

"Was there something you wanted to talk about?" He trailed off.

Seto looked up, eyes slightly unfocused, still in thought. "What?"

Mokuba rolled his eyes just enough for it to be noticed. "Seto, you offered ice cream. Ice cream means that something's wrong in this house. What is it?"

The CEO sighed, sometimes tradition really fucked you over. He took a deep breath in and steeling his nerves (with the rational thought that his bisexual brother wouldn't hate him for being gay), began to tell his brother what he'd been feeling.

"So you're gay?" Mokuba finally asked.

"I think so."

"Like gay-gay?"

"As opposed to straight-gay?"

"No, I just mean, really gay?"

"No Mokuba, I'm only faking gay."

"Seto, stop being a butt," Seto deepened his frown at this point, no one called Seto Kaiba a butt. "I'm just wondering, how gay are you?"

"Pretty gay, alright?" he growled.

"You're sure?"

"YES MOKUBA! I LIKE MEN. ONLY MEN." Nothing like twenty questions to help you make up your mind.

"So it's not a maybe then." Mokuba grinned broadly.

"No. I suppose not."

"Any…particular men?"

Seto focused, set his jaw and lied like the CEO he was. "No, just a…general inclination."

"Hm. So what are we going to do then? Have a coming out party? Invite all the elegible bachelors of the proper persuasion? A press conference? Keep it another dirty secret, a fetus growing into a skeleton in the closets of Kaiba Corp?" Mokuba had stopped eating his ice cream and was leaning forward, as though trying to get his words to his brother even faster.

Seto just frowned. He didn't know what he wanted to do. He still didn't know how he really felt.

"I don't want to…make a move yet. I don't know…how I feel-"

"But you just said you were queer!" Mokuba interjected.

The elder Kaiba flinched away from the word. "You pushed me into a corner. I still want to wait a while."

There was a long and full pause until Mokuba spoke, tentatively. "Well…why don't you come to the DCPA with me, act like you're just trying to be suportive. You can't find out what the subculture is like. You can talk to counselors, again, like you're trying to find out more of what I'm going through. If you do decide to talk to them about you…they are trustworthy. Especially Joey…Tahnya is nice too. She-"

"He."

"SHE, works mostly with the younger kids though. But there are older counselors, ones like-"

"I'm not going to talk to anyone but you about me…and for talking about you, the mutt will do well enough. So, when do I…start with them? The DCPA…"

"Well, there's no meetings or anything tomorrow, but I was planning to go hang out with everyone…you could come too. Or…Thursday is spring cleaning, they'll really welcome you if you come to that." Mokuba smiled at his brother, knowing that he probably thought "hanging out" and "cleaning" were beneath him.

"Mokuba…I- fine. I'll come."

"Really?" Mokie said, arching an eyebrow.

"Yes, really. I'll pick you up after school and we'll head over."

Another Kaiba tradition fell into place now, when the purpose of a conversation was outlived, it was over. They changed the topic from there. It moved onto school, the company, Mokuba's friends, affectionate lectures from one sibling to the other, how Mokuba had to be less trusting, how Seto had to be more human. Both knew however, that these things would only happen with time.


	5. The Queerest of The Queer

A/N: I was THRILLED with the amount of reviews and hits the last chapter got! Thank you all so much. Hopefully the next chapter will be up around Friday, sooner if I get a few reviews (again, a few review to me is one or two). It's already written so all it needs is proof reading, it's called "Pieces of Hell" and it's about spring cleaning at the DCPA.

Anyway, please read and review, oh! And go read my new story, it's a one shot. Titled "Untitled for Now." READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTES. There is a contest to have me write a fic for you.

Chapter Four: The Queerest of The Queer.

2:45 PM

The Kaiba brothers arrive at the DCPA.

2:47

Seto Kaiba is ready to leave.

But really, can you blame him? Quite, sober, reserved Seto Kaiba walks into a room and finds himself immersed in loud conversation, frantic gestures of communication, laughter and above all COLOR (for someone who's only light article of clothing is a white bondage trench coat, this isn't easy on the eyes).

Tristin and Duke are arguing furiously, something which everyone is not ignoring, but not even noticing (it happens far too often to be dignified with a response).

Ryou and Bakura are cuddled on an old sofa, eyes closed with serene smiles on their faces, entirely oblivious to any noise around them.

Yugi was straightening up a table of free information and swag, while Yami was carrying a box upstairs to the balcony.

Something about the atmosphere told Seto that the room was always at least this active.

Still, it wasn't up to the average level, as the mutt was no where to be seen.

As Mokuba greeted everyone, asking if there was anything that needed to be done, Seto looked around. He found the room to be a large rectangular room, the entrance under a balcony with two sets of stairs leading up to it, one against the wall on either side. By the right set of stairs was another door, seeming to lead into offices. The right wall had book shelves along it, all but the last one filled. Their were comfy looking chairs and sofas spread about, all looking disgustingly second hand to the elder Kaiba brother. There were a few computers out for visitors access (warnings against looking at pornography sites were posted next to both the screens and key boards.

Finally he was pulled from his observations by his younger brother pulling him forwards, towards-oh no- Yugi.

The tiny boy was grinning, eyes dancing with genuine happiness and sincerity (the only thing Seto hated more than fake sincerity).

Seto was forced to greet the entirety of the geek squad, sans the pup. All of them seemed, to say the least, surprised, to seem him.

"So Kaiba, h-" Yugi began, only to be interrupted.

"Are you queer?" Bakura broke in, smirking in a most Kaiba-esque way (he was now much more alert than when cuddling with Ryou).

"Kura!" Ryou shrieked at him, swatting with slightly less enthusiasm than was deserved (what can we say, Ryou couldn't hurt anyone, no matter how much they deserved it).

"No Bakura, he's just here for me. He needs more…" Mokuba struggled to find the word.

"Socialization." A new voice broke in. Joey had come out of the offices, and was smiling broadly. "Hey Moki. Hello Kaiba, welcome to the DCPA." He held a hand out to shake, and when Mokuba elbowed him in the side, Seto finally returned it.

"Very professional, Wheeler."

"Yeah, well, while I'm here, I'm a role model."

"For who? No one's here besides your friends."

"Mokuba." Joey smiled. Anyone watching could notice, their was a wince of sadness in it. Sadness from missing the sister he never got to see, sadness for Mokuba living with a brother and rarely seeing him.

Their was a deep pause, much like the pause between two people wanting to apologize, but neither wanting to be the first to do it.

The silence was finally broken by an anguished wail coming from the hall leading to the entrance. It echoed off the walls and into the room.

"Oh dear." Ryou said in his polite British way.

"It's Tahnya." Yugi added.

"Yes, for who else has cause to make the sound of ultimate suffering?" Joey smiled wryly. He loved Tahnya, he really did. She was one of his best friends, but just like with Tristin and Duke's fights, he was acclimated to her drama.

There was another cry, slightly strangled, as though she was trying to regain composure. Joey had just begun walking to the door as she walked in. She looked rough.

'Poor thing.' Kaiba actually found himself thinking (a very un-Kaiba like thought, I know). Her eyeliner was running and she had bags under her eyes, her hair was a mess and her clothes didn't match. Joey immediately ran over to her, surrounding her in his arms. She quieted down slowly, then began hiccupping.

"Sweetie," He cooed. "Sit down, I'll go get something to clean you up." Joey led her to a chair, then bolted for the office, returning with a small bag, towel and water bottle. "All right, look me in the eye." Tahnya shook her head and continued to hiccup. Joey smiled slightly, pouring some of the water into the towel. "I know you wouldn't let me get away with this, now sit up, and look me in the eye. Be the bitch I know you are." Seto blanched at this. He's never known Joey to be so mean. But Tahnya looked up finally, smiling slightly. "That's right gorgeous. Now, what happened?" He asked, as he started cleaning the running and smeared makeup off her face.

"I was walking down the street and a little girl asked her mom if I was a girl or a boy." She choked out, her throat tightening on the last few words.

"Tahnya, she's just a little kid. Cute, but stupid. Kind of like Yugi."

"Hey!" Yugi broke in.

"Just kidding Yug, trying to lighten the mood."

Tahnya smiled, and Seto saw that even without the makeup she was still quite feminine and pretty, he really had no idea of how the little girl could have known that she was originally (still?) a man.

"You don't have to tease Yugi to make me feel better, Joseph." She said, smiling slightly.

"Maybe not to make you feel better, but it certainly helps me." He grinned back. He reached out for the other bag, unzipped it and pulled out a compact. "The boy who's got it all needs to be knocked down a few notches once in a while. Even if what I'm saying isn't true." He began to put her make up on, their faces were close and the actions seemed intimate, their breaths almost mingling. "Alright, which shade beautiful?" He held up two lipsticks for her.

Did they really have to be that close to each other?

"Don't call me beautiful." She blushed.

And did he have to keep calling her beautiful?

"Ah, demure are we? It'll be 'Blushing Peach' then. Wait…peaches blush?" He frowned, but began applying the lipstick to her anyway.

Seto was sure she could put her own god damned makeup on. He didn't know- well, really he did know why, but he was very uncomfortable with the way Joey spoke to Tahnya. He'd been positive that he was gay. Joey was gay. He had to be. That shirt, and he worked here, with gay kids at the gay youth center. Maybe it was because Tahnya was really a guy?

Now Seto was REALLY confused.

"Well, there you go. You look fabulous, if I do say so myself. Do you feel better?"

"Much. Thank you Joey." She kissed him on the cheek and stood up, nearly throwing her boobs in his face.

Oh no she did not!

"Whoa, whoa, whoa sweetie. The kiss, fine, but the boobs are a little weird."

"Shut up!" She squealed, grinning. "It was an accident, they're new, I'm not entirely sure how to use them yet!"

"Yeah, ok. We all know that you really want my hot sexy body and are trying to turn me straight." Joey narrowly dodged an attack with a faded throw pillow.

"Yeah, believe what you want to believe." She said, getting up and going into the office.

Seto smiled inwardly, only barely able to suppress it on the outside and again, not quite knowing why (ok, so he really did but…). She didn't like him like that…or at least said she didn't. But Joey was gay…a type of gay that seemed to not extend to used-to-be men.

:End Chapter:

A/N: Please read and review and PLEASE, PLEASE take part in the contest to name my new story ("Untitled for Now).


	6. Peices of Hell

Author's note: Sorry this took so long, I actually wanted to get it up sooner because of all the great reviews I got, but I just lost track of time (yeah I know, no awesome excuse, no evil parents or something, just sort of forgot). But anyway, here it is. Chapter five. I have the next three or so written, they just need to be typed, which takes me a while….but soon. I swear I will update soon. I REALLY want to finish this story.

Anyway, tell me what you think.

Oh, and PLEASE go to take part in the contest for my story "Untitled For Now." I only have one entry! C'mon, please?

Disclaimer: So….I just realized that I haven't been doing these. OOPSIE. Well, I don't own YuGiOh, I never will. Wish I did, but don't. After many sessions with my therapist, I've come to terms with this. I didn't own it in the past chapters either.

Fair Play

Chapter Five: Pieces of Hell

The rest of that day had gone semi calmly, and, though Seto would never admit it, hadn't been entirely unenjoyable.

Now it was two weeks later, and Seto had been to the Youth Center three times since that afternoon where he felt jealousy over Joey and Tahnya's non-existent romance.

Mind you, it hadn't really been jealousy (even though he knew it had).

Joey flopped down onto one of the overstuffed arm chairs, swinging his feet onto a low table. "I could really get used to this. Sexy boys cleaning for me. The only thing that could make it better would be hot pants. What do you say Kaiba?"

Seto growled, but at an elbow to the ribs from his little brother he cooled quickly. "Hot pants? Why not go all the way and get us little French maid's costumes?"

"Eh, dresses aren't my thing, short shorts however…" He trailed off.

Yugi shook his head, but didn't say anything.

Joey had gotten to the DCPA hours before the rest of them, and by the time they'd arrived he had reorganized the library, updated the bulletin board and information tables. He'd thrown away any condoms that were within a year of expiring, and put out new ones, along with candy. He'd also begun cleaning out the storage room. And since they'd gotten there (some still puffy eyes and tousle haired) he had finished the storage room, cleaned the offices, done virus scans on the computers ("Why don't you dust Kaiba, you spend so much time with computers already, you must want a break.") and just generally harassed everyone.

Yugi was vacuuming.

Yami, Ryou and Bakura were cleaning in and under all the chairs and sofas, using a shop vac after looking for spare change, and valiantly trying to keep Bakura from sucking his own face off.

Mokuba had just finished moping the hallway and was now helping Yugi with the vacuuming.

Some other DCPA regulars and Tahnya were going through the filing cabinets and Tim was out front, sweeping the steps and scrubbing the sign.

Joey was positively thrilled with the turnout (pointedly ignoring the fact that more than half of the people in attendance were his close friends). Mind you, he was happier about something else.

No, it wasn't the pizza that was on it's way with Tristin and Duke. For once food was not weighing so heavily on his mind.

No, instead he was busy being very happy with himself of giving Seto the job of dusting and cleaning the storage cupboards. It was a job that involved stretching up (exposing the small of his back) and bending down low to set things down (flexing that delicious ass of his).

Mokuba must have had something to do with dressing him today. No one could override the famous (infamous) Seto Kaiba fashion sense, but the younger Kaiba seemed to have relaxed it a bit, the result looking something like a more modern and relaxed beat poet, sans one beret.

There was no trench coat and no painfully tight pants. Instead he wore looser black pants, soft looking and not bondage in the least, they even had side of the knee cargo style pockets. His shirt wasn't spandex, or something reminiscent of John Travolta.

Both articles were just tight enough and fell just right, making Joey stare, eyes slightly glazed at the flexing back and ass of the CEO.

Suddenly his world shook, and as he jumped in his seat he looked around and realized that Mokuba was sitting next to his chair, staring pointedly and having just forcefully rammed his vacuum into it.

The boy cocked at eyebrow at him, to which Joey just blushed and shrugged. "Can't help it."

Mokie let out an exasperated sigh and went on vacuuming.

"So Kaiba-"

"Call him Seto." Mokuba interrupted, only to receive a glare from his brother.

"Kaiba, what's going on at the company? Any new projects?"

"Nothing you'd understand, I'm sure."

"It wouldn't stop me from being interested."

"But it would me." He sneered, though with much less venom that normal.

"Just trying to be nice rich boy."

"And here I thought all this niceness was a disease that you guys had all contracted from each other." Seto turned around to address Joey, who only smiled back.

"Keep cleaning slave."

It was then that Joey finally came to understand the phrase, "All hell broke loose." Because it did, break loose that is, and not just part of hell, oh no, all of it.

Bakura began laughing (a good 1/8th of hell in itself). Ryou, while holding the business end of the shop vac, went to hit him, but missed and only succeeded in catching both of their makeshift ponytails (they were tied with bits of leftover rainbow ribbon as no scrunchies to be found) (this accounts for 1/4th of hell).

Yami, out of shock at their screaming and general surprise at the sight before him, promptly dropped the sofa he's been supporting onto Yugi's vacuum, which then promptly broke, choking on it's broken parts, grinding gears and generally roaring into the room (1/4th of hell).

Leaving the vacuum to it's death cry, Yugi went to help his friends (and as the television show chronicles for us, he is very inept at this, thus we can jot down another 1/8th of hell).

Tahnya stood, waving her arms and asking panicked questions in a most ineffectual manner, while Ryou and Bakura tore at the shop vac, pulling their hair and hitting their heads together.

Yami jumped in to the rescue, likewise trying to pull their hair from the powerful suction (1/16th of hell).

At the same time Joey and Mokuba lunged for the off switch of the shop vac, both hands hitting it at the same time, which instead threw it into reverse, which happened in a large blast of dust, bits of paper and one of those paratrooper army men (with a rainbow parachute), throwing Ryou and Bakura's hair over their heads and into their eyes.

This could be said to be the rest of hell.

The air cleared, the coughing stopped and one person per machine (Joey and Mokuba again) reached for the vacuums.

The army man had caught on the chandelier and a large circle of the room was covered in rubbish from the shop vac's projectile vomit.

Ryou rubbed his head. "I think it gave my scalp a hicky."

Yami rolled his eyes. "Like Bakura hasn't given you worse."

"Point." Ryou conceded.

Joey just looked around in dismay.

They'd almost been done.

Pizza was coming.

Seto was sexy.

Now everything within a fifteen foot radius had to be re-vacuumed, the broken vacuum had to be cleaned up and thrown away. They'd have to go get a new one.

"Alright guys, somebody name the soldier, he's going to be there for a while." Joey sighed, staring at the plastic soldier hanging from the lights.

"Harvey." Seto said, before anyone else had even a chance to register what Joey had said. Even he seemed surprised, as though his mouth had moved without his permission.

"Harvey. I like it." Joey grinned. "You read some gay history books."

Their eyes met and caught, sticking for quite a while in oblivious silence.

Amused, Yugi broke the offending still. "Well, lets clean this all up. Of we hurry we might get it done before Tris and Duke get here with lunch."

Tahnya gave up two of her helpers and another office loaned a vacuum to them (not having been told about the previous vacuum's fate).

At 12:30 the Tristin and Duke showed up with pizzas, and at 12:45 they had finished cleaning and sat down for the feast of lukewarm pizza, soda and chips (after being told repeatedly by Joey to keep neat).


	7. A Toast

A/N:

This is the chapter which really shouldn't have been written. I didn't feel like the last chapter was finished and in an attempt to complete it this just sort of came out…it really is just word vomit. Fear this chapter.

And PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! Go read "Untitled For Now" and take part in the contest. I only have two entries.

Disclaimer: I don't own YuGiOh or the slight reference to RENT.

Chapter Five Point Five: A Toast (The lost chapter, which should have never been written.)

As they were about to dig in, Joey raised his glass. "I'd like to propose a toast-"

"To Maureen's noble try?" Yugi chimed in.

Joey rolled his eyes. "To all of you. The DCPA would be nothing without it's members. Thank you Tim for your wonderful PR and publicity work, and for keeping us connected to the DCGA (AN: The Domino City Gay Alliance, the adult center and programs). Tahnya, for…what do you do around here? Thanks for looking so pretty. We could have just gotten more posters, but you're more interesting." He dodged a pillow. "And thank you for your health education services. But really, all of you contribute so much and I have too many things to thank you for to even try to list. You've all been generous with your time, talents and even though there isn't always a lot to go around, your treasures. I really appreciate it. We all do. My job would be a lot harder if it weren't for all of you. So, thanks." He smiled and took a sip. "Well, what are you all waiting for? Dig in!"

Seto only nibbled at his pizza, not that Seto Kaiba really ate pizza to begin with, but Mokuba forced a slice onto his plate. He was suffering from something that could be described as the generic version of Yami's "mind crush." His head was reeling with the broken bits of his world view. Joey Wheeler, the no good, no account street punk duelist, wasn't who Seto thought he was.

The boy could be intelligent, professional, eloquent and funny. True, he was still many of the things Seto had always thought him to be (loudmouthed, opinionated, goofy and hotheaded, just to cover the basics), but he had been, over all, wrong.

Wrong.

Wrrrrroooooooonnnnng.

He tried to wrap his head around the word.

The foolish, stupid, frustrating pup he thought he knew didn't exist.

Now, the 64,000 dollar question…

Was he still attracted to this Joey, the real Joey?

Laughing at something Bakura had said, Joey brushed his hair back from his eyes, looked around, and catching Seto looking at him, grinned, before going back to his conversation.

The answer:

Oh hell yes.


	8. Rub Me The Right Way

A/N: Sorry this took so long. My computer died in the weirdest way and I just found a really roundabout way to do this. On the bright side, it's six pages, so woot for me.

Also, PLEASE go enter the contest for "Untitled for Now." Just read the story and offer a titled. That's it. You can win semi-fabulous prizes.

Disclaimer: I don't own YuGiOh or Ben and Jerry's ice cream. I really don't own much, come to think of it. Anyway. Onward.

Fair Play

Chapter Six: Rub Me The Right Way

Seto was sitting between the entangled pair that was Yami and Yugi, and Mokuba.

In this case Yami and Yugi, though not technically melded in body, took up only the space of one person (being the mass of limbs they were). Thankfully (well, Seto was thankful) they weren't making out. On his other side, Mokuba was talking about a mile a minute to Duke.

This, combined with the other sights and sounds of the busy Friday afternoon DCPA, had Seto ready to go home and sleep.

While he couldn't (honestly) say that he hated spending time with the former geek squad, today he was exhausted and working on a headache the size of Yugi's Eyes.

Yesterday and today had been his worst in a while.

He'd learned something from the DCPA, and while he was loathe to admit it, he'd learned it from Joey.

If you want something done right, you don't always need to do it yourself.

Seto had watched the amount of faith Joey had in the other DCPA workers, trusting them and the work they did. If something didn't turn out right, or they had questions, Joey helped them with a reassuring hand on their shoulder and a, "Yeah, I've had trouble with this too."

So Seto decided to try it (minus the reassurances). And to his surprise, it worked. Now that he wasn't yelling at or angry with his employees all the time, he found that he was able to drop some of the responsibilities that other CEOs wouldn't dream of holding. He wouldn't have to work for months straight to get ahead so he could do a dueling tournament. He could effectively work on his own project, but most importantly, he could spend more time with Mokuba.

Even with the good work his employees were exhibiting, no one could prevent the occasional bad day. Example: yesterday. There had been a lot of school work, obviously not difficult, but tedious, and somehow a virus had gotten into his personal computer. After doing a bit of damage control he traced it to one of his business rivals, and promptly returned the favor tenfold.

He pinched and rubbed the bridge of his nose. As he opened his eyes he jumped and grabbed the wrists attached to the hands that were coming around his head. Tilting his head back he saw Joey smiling sheepishly at him.

"Alright ninja-san, let go. I'm not going to snap your neck or anything. Just relax as best you can." Seto raised an eyebrow in a silent, "Yeah right, fuck you."

"Seto, do it, seriously." Mokuba urged.

He was then hit by a resounding wave of similar comments. Bakura was making threats on his life and Duke made slightly less frightening but more catty comments.

"What? Why?"

"Just do it Kaiba, it's better than sex." Yugi pushed.

"Aibou!" Yami snapped.

"Oh, ok, not THAT good, but it is awesome." Yugi conceded.

"What are you talking about? It's way better than sex!" Bakura scoffed.

"Baku!" Ryou nearly screeched, hitting his Yami on the chest (it made only a mild thud, but it was worth it).

Seto, who had no idea what they were talking about, what they wanted him to let Joey do, released the almost scaldingly hot wrists he'd been holding.

Still stiff, he leaned back against the sofa and tried his best to relax. It didn't reassure him much when Joey asked, "Can you deal with me messing up your hair Kaib'?"

"Yes." Mokuba answered for him. Seto glared at his little brother.

"Just let him Seto."

Joey started at Seto's temples, firm yet soft circles. He slowly worked back, rubbing deeply at Seto's scalp.

Oh. My. God Cards.

Seto bit back a moan.

His eyes drifted shut as he didn't ignore, but never even hear the giggles around him.

Joey was barely breathing. Seto's hair was so soft, and the smell of shampoo wafted up as his motions fluffed it. His fingers still in Seto's hair, he let his thumbs slide down to the back of the other boy's neck, feeling painfully tight muscles.

His hands pulled away and Seto whimpered, then looked down and blushed in shame. Joey flexed his hands, cracking his knuckles, then went to work on Seto's shoulders, letting his strong hands drift down as low his shoulder blades and up and forward as far as his collar bone.

Seto arched his neck as Joey kneaded with his thumbs just below the brunette's ears.

Joey smirked. Not exactly the way he'd imagined it, but he had Seto Kaiba helpless and moaning under him. Seto's forehead had relaxed, his neck muscles were loose and shoulders (which were tighter than any others he's ever felt) were slumping under his touch.

Joey pressed harder, deeper, sometimes moving Seto's entire torso with his movements. Finally, with one shudder from the boy, the muscles relinquished their death grip. Joey wanted to whoop for joy, instead he slowed down a little and began working his way along Seto's arms. He walked around the sofa and knelt at Seto's feet, taking Seto's left hand into both of his.

Joey flexed it, pulled down each finger, popping the knuckles and rubbing firmly into the palm before moving on to the right hand.

He went back to the other side of the sofa and for a few minutes, rubbed Seto's head again, before stopping and resting his hands on Seto's relaxed shoulders.

It was quiet for a while, until Seto opened his eyes, dazed.

"That was hot." Bakura announced.

Joey rolled his eyes and went to the mini fridge, took out a bottle of water and handed it to Seto, who seemed to be falling back into his body.

"Have you ever had a massage before?" Joey inquired.

"No." He managed, his hands slipping and shaking as he opened the bottle.

"Well, any time you need it." Joey smiled, almost sadly.

There was a long awkward silence that Joey finally broke. "I've got some work to do in the…the-"

"Office?" Mokuba offered.

"Yeah. That."

At his desk, Joey sat and shook.

Still in the main room, and attempting to bury the private moment they'd been privy to, Yugi and the gang started talking loudly and quickly about the day of silence later that month.

Tahnya got up and left for the office. Joey was still sitting there, gripping the table white knuckled.

"Joseph, you alright?"

"I don't know." He sighed, and the shaking slowed.

"You love him?" She asked.

"I like him. I've always liked him. I'm attracted to him, but I don't know if I love him."

"I don't think you can date him if that's all…He's-"  
"Intense." Joey finished. "I know. This would have to be an all or nothing thing. I care about him, but how can I love him? I don't know him well enough. You can't just go from hating someone to loving them in just a month or two. Maybe we still do hate each other. I don't know. I've always liked him, I always wanted to know him, and I've always been attracted to him, but he insulted me, and Yugi and all of us really, so much, I can't just love him. Even if I've forgiven him, I can't just love him. I like him though. I like him a lot. Am I making any sense?"

She giggled. He sounded like a fourteen year old girl. "Not much. But we've noticed that you like him. Everyone but he has."

"Great. Fan-fucking-tastic. Well, he wont not know for long. Bakura can never keep his mouth shut."

"He will for you. He likes you. You helped him get used to our customs when he moved here."

Joey smiled. They'd told Tahnya that Bakura and Yami had moved here from Egypt.

"And you helped him with Ryou. He wont tell."

"Even if he doesn't, Seto will find out eventually. The boy's far from stupid." Joey groaned.

"When it comes to this sort of thing, I think he might be, and anyway, I know how to get him. Just keep giving him massages and he's yours."

"Nice Tahn. I'm supposed to whore out my hands to get a boyfriend."

"I don't see why not."

"You really are a bitch." He smiled.

"Yeah, but only hypothetically."

"Well, then, hypothetically go away."

"I'll think about it." She grinned broadly and the squareness of her jaw showed. She had been a handsome man. It was a pity really…

Wait! Man!

Seto was a man!

Joey didn't know if he was gay!

Fuck!

Fuck!

Fuckity fucking fuck!

How could he forget that? How could he forget that most men have at least some qualms about dating other men?

By the time Joey quitted his hermitage, Seto and Mokuba had already gone.

"He didn't talk after you left." Yugi smirked.

"He never talks much." Joey countered.

"He kept looking over at the offices." Ryou offered.

"He probably heard me moving things around." Joey replied.

Bakura grinned lecherously. "He kept stroking his hand up and down that water bottle like it was your c-"

"Leave it there Kura." Joey ordered, sounding dangerous.

"Right after you left, he pulled his brief case onto his lap. I think he was covering something."

"You're delusional Yami, you all are." The blonde muttered, turning and walking across the room.

"He wants your magic hands!" Yami sang at Joey's retreating back.

"He wants your magic touch!" Bakura called.

"He wants to be left alone!" Joey snapped. His eyes widened, realizing what he's done. "Sorry guys, I'm just stressed with planning the Day of Silence and the youth show…and…I don't know."

He flopped down into a chair and compulsively flexed his hands (he'd been doing this since he'd stopped shaking).

"You've got it so bad." Bakura teased.

"Baku! Stop it." Ryou scolded.

"Well he does."

"Shut up thief, if I recall correctly, someone wrote English Romanticism style poetry when they were in love. That's having it bad if you ask me." Yami taunted.

"I didn't ask you Pharaoh." Bakura spat.

"Aibou!

My chest is a tomb robbed of it's treasures!

Only statues of it's one god remaining.

Carved of white marble and-hungunff!" Yami's poetry reading was cut short by Bakura tackling him, one shoulder into his chest.

"Be silent Pharaoh!"

"He bit me! Someone help! Yugi! He's going- ah! Vampire!"

"Ryou, can you and Bakura please keep my Yami out of your kinky sex games?" Yugi asked vaguely. He was really paying more attention to Joey and his problems.

The fighting went on for a little while, with Ryou worrying over the tangle of bodies.

"Bakura, please stop gnawing on him. Yami, not his hair!" The boy was nearly having a panic attack by the time he thought of a way to end this.

He pulled his hair back into a pony tail, stood as tall as possible, set his jaw and cleared his throat.

"Bakura, stop!" He commanded.

The tomb robber looked up to see his lover looking furious, eyes narrowed and shoulder's squared. He swallowed with difficulty and scrambled to his feet, leaving Yami confused on the floor.

"Get our backpacks Bakura, you're being punished."

"But I-"

"The bags, now Bakura." Ryou said in a deadly tone.

Bakura looked around embarrassed, then grabbed their bags and followed Ryou obediently to the door.

Ryou gave them a cheerful and slightly apologetic wave as they left.

"So….That didn't just happen. Right?" Tahnya asked.

Joey was still gaping a took a minute to answer. "What didn't happen? I didn't see anything, especially not Ryou acting like a dominatrix-"

"Third sign of the apocalypse." Yugi interjected.

"Making me seriously reevaluate what I thought was the top/bottom dynamic of their relationship." Joey finished.

"And he bit me! Do you think he got any of his nasty bottom germs on me?"

"Yami!" Yugi threw a pillow at his boyfriend.

Joey looked at his friends, one eyebrow cocked in confusion. "You guys don't swap? You're exclusive?"

"Waaa?" Yugi questioned.

"He's always giving, you're always receiving, he's always the top, you're always the bottom, you never switch?" Joey sounded REALLY confused by now.

Yugi blinked, then tilted his head, "Well yeah, isn't that the way it works?"

Joey spoke tentatively, "It can, but every couple I've known…they switch. Sure, one tends to be on top more often than the other…but…they switch. Tristin and Duke do. And Ryou and Bakura…as was just demonstrated, seem to."

"Really?" Yugi asked, a look of awe taking over his features.

Joey nodded.

"Yami?" Yugi said in his best 'come hither' voice, raising an eyebrow seductively.

"See you Joey, Tahnya." Yami said in a rush.

And in a many colored blur they were gone, leaving Tahnya and Joey along.

"Oh my." She straightened her skirt. "Looks like we're the only ones not getting laid tonight."

"Again." Joey added. "Wanna jump in bed with Ben and Jerry and watch Casablanca?"

"Oh Joseph, you know what turns me on." She smiled.

"Yeah, Yeah, you close the offices, I'll check the back door."

As he finished locking up, Tahnya softly said, "Though I think I'll have Ben and Jerry all to myself before long. You wont need ice cream to keep your bed warm."

"Why, are you finally going to buy me a boyfriend pillow?"

"No, but I think you'll rope yourself a Kaiba pillow soon."

"Don't you think Mokuba's a little young for me?"

"Stop playing dumb, Joseph."

"At least I have to play." He stuck his tongue out at her.

"Keep telling yourself that." She smiled and started sashaying out the door.

Quiet with their own thoughts now, they walked out into the evening.

Review!


	9. IMPORTANT

Dear Readers,

I'll try to keep this short and to the point. Failing that, I'll try to keep it entertaining.

After several attempts at suicide, my computer has self induced a coma.

Try one was, through means of cyber promiscuity, the contraction of a debilitating, but non fatal virus, one which medical science (Dr. Norton is his attending) can neither detect, nor delete.

The symptoms of the disease include:

The failure of explorer (not the Internet, the OS bit).

Absence of a start menu.

Loss of icons.

Still, all the data is there and accessible, just though roundabout ways.

Differential diagnosis?

No idea.

In his second attempt, operation "Pull the Plug", he brought in an accomplice known by authorities only as Booboo.

At fifteen pounds, with long flowing hair and a lust for things not meant to be eaten, he is truly a force to be reckoned with.

At the scene we found my AC power cod viciously gnawed at, the wires severed but the plastic insulation hanging on by a thread. Black and white hairs were also recovered from the scene, narrowing our list of suspects down to Hamlin's one cow, and the feared cat assassin.

A simple scent test of the saliva on the cord proved it to be of cat origin.

The suspect was taken into custody when he was found returning to the scene of the crime, finishing off a bundle of flowers in an unrelated job.

Some people just can't bring themselves to change.

Between the aforementioned tragedy and it's pending investigation, the start of National Novel Writing Month (which I was participating in until my computers (victim's) semi-demise), and sundry personal problems, the typing process has come to a standstill. Virgil (the victim), will be at the Toshiba hospital for some time. and new power cord will be purchased as soon as funds can be raised. Until then sadly, this story cannot be updated.

It is believed that Virgil's (my computer's) suicidal tendencies began when he heard mention of the possibility of being replaced by an apple.

If you would like to send wishes for Virgil's health and a speedy recovery, it may be done though the normal review methods or by e-mailing me at he recovers, my online time will be limited to school and the spare moments on my family's computer.

Thank you very much for your time.

Your friend,

LittleMissReaper


	10. Mauling Part I

A/N: Sorry for the long wait, but here it is. Six pages. The second part shouldn't take all that much longer, but enjoy this for now.

Also, please, I only have two entries for my story contest. There are PRIZES!!!! Read "Untitled For Now" and submit your title ideas.

Anyway, read on Lizzy.

Disclaimer: I own the plot, the wording and the general concept, but not YuGiOh or any of it's associated characters.

Fair Play

Chapter Nine: Mauling Part I

(The one chapter to rule them all, meaning it is maddeningly long.)

Focus in on the elder of two brothers. Chestnut brown hair. Piercing blue eyes. Pained expression.

Oh yes. The great Seto Kaiba could feel, and right now he was experiencing this pain most acutely.

Why are we here?

What are we here for?

I mean really, what is the point of it all?

I hate shopping.

Where were they?

The only place in Domino City where no one can hear you scream.

The mall.

April had started the day before and the overly excited/excitable Mokuba decided on a shopping trip to get him something new to wear for the upcoming youth events.

In a few days was an interesting spin on the Drag Show (as though they hadn't been interesting before), for one, it was a competition, and secondly, it was divided into two categories, solos and duets. All of the solos were drags, but for the duets only one member had to crossdress.

Focus: Yugi, Ryou, Bakura, Duke, Tahnya and Joey.

Technically, since Tahnya had yet to experience the liberation that is gender reassignment surgery, her manner of self expression was a type of cross dressing. Get her to swallow her pride, put it to music, and you had a drag.

She hated it, but Joey had begged her to, and, having a soft spot for the blonde, not to mention puppy eyes in general, she consented.

"So what are we here for?" She asked.

Focus: The Kaiba Brothers.

"Two new outfits for me, and if we can manage it, some less…stuffy or bizarre clothes for you." Mokuba answered him.

"What's wrong with my clothes?"

"Oh so much…" The younger Kaiba brother gave a look that said 'I could go on for hours'. "Anyway, you need something to wear to these two things, and you're not wearing a trench coat."

"I'm sure as hell not going in drag."

"Only the performers go in drag…unless you really want to."

"I don't!"

"Ok. I was just teasing."

"So what specifically are we here for?"

Focus: Yugi, Ryou, Bakura, Duke, Tahnya and Joey.

"Well, I'm looking for nice pants and a dress shirt for the show, something decent to wear to the day of silence party, and Tahnya and I are looking for a sexy little dress for her. What about you Yug?"

"I only need to find something for the DoS dance, I know what I'm wearing to the show, but I want to get something fun."

"How about some more latex paint?" Bakura offered. "You must be running low now that Yami has his own body and you both need to paint your pants on."

Yugi just blushed, then smirked when Ryou hit his darker half. "Very funny Bakura. So what do you and Ryou need?"

"Drab school girl outfit."

"Perky school girl outfit." They replied in turns.

"Which I'm sure will make themselves useful offstage as well as on." Joey grinned. "Duke?"

"I don't know, but I'll know it when I see it."

"As usual…meaning you need the most time." Joey sighed.

Ryou turned to Tahnya. "Tahnya, can I borrow your pre-op breasts for the show?"

"Sure Ry, it's not like I need them anymore, I might even have a set Bakura can wear. I still can't believe you're performing in this."

Focus: Kaiba Brothers.

"I'm not! I'm just going to it. You watch the show, dance and hang out. A lot of the people in the DCPA are performing though. Joey and Tahnya, Tristin and Duke and Ryou and Bakura are all doing duets, not to mention Duke is doing a solo."

Focus: Yugi, Ryou, Bakura, Duke, Tahnya and Joey.

"So what song are you doing, Duke?" Yugi asked.

"Let's fall in love."

"I love that song!" Tahnya all but squealed.

"I'll sing it extra sweet for you."

"You'd better not flirt with me like that. You being bi is a dangerous thing, your boyfriend might get jealous."

"To flatter you, I'll risk it." He winked at her.

Tahnya smiled, blushing fetchingly and went back to the rack of clothes she was looking at.

"What do you think of these pants?" Yugi held up a pair.

Focus: Kaiba Brothers.

"Mokuba, are you sure that those aren't girl pants?"

"No, but they fall nice. They give the illusion of butt."

"Mokuba! Don't talk like that!"

"What? All cultures practice appearance management. It doesn't matter if it's clothing, jewelry, makeup or body modification, it's all to attract the attention of potential mates. It's just by chance that the potential mate I'm looking for would like me better if I had something of a butt. And before you spaz out, what I'm looking for in a mate is a relationship, not sex."

There was a long pause. "Appearance management is also to show status."

"And what does status get you, Seto?"

"Sex." Seto groaned. Why were teenagers so frustrating? Why were near genius teenagers so frustrating?

"See?"

Focus: Yugi, Ryou, Bakura, Duke, Tahnya and Joey.

"You guys are lucky you've found someone."

Tahnya nodded her assent to Joey's comment.

"You have someone to dance with. Eat and sleep with. You don't have to worry about creepy guys coming on to you or finding someone to talk to when all of your friends are on dates."

"Emo-pants." Bakura said, rolling his eyes.

Yugi, not knowing what to do or say, held up a shirt. "What about this?"

Focus: The Kaiba Brothers

"Seto, that shirt is vile. It should be burned and fed to hamsters, it is just that ugly. I feel like I'm on a reality show, Bi Eye for The Queer Guy. Go get that blue shirt, the dark one, it's perfect for the drag show. Now what about this for the day of silence? Oh dear, no, green is not your color. Brown however, might be. No go, try them on." Mokuba shooed Seto into the changing room with black pants, the smooth (though not shiny) blue shirt, a brown shirt and jacket and jeans (the perfect shade to match the brown of the shirt).

Focus: Yugi, Ryou, Bakura, Duke, Tahnya and Joey

"So Duke and I are the only one's not finished?" Joey asked.

"Unless Ryou and Bakura aren't done yet wherever they are." Yugi smiled apologetically.

"That makes me…very pathetic." Joey concluded.

"If you didn't concentrate on helping everyone else so much…" Tahnya pointed out.

"Yeah yeah…Well, I suppose that makes me less pathetic than dice boy."

"Hey! I'm only missing an outfit for the show! It's hard to find heels that don't make me walk all wobbly!" Duke snapped, before wandering off into women's wear.

"A lot less pathetic." Tahnya assured him. "Now Joseph, go try these on." She handed him a red button up shirt and black pants. "Wear the tie you have there."

Joey walked off into the dressing rooms, and as the others slowly ambled over, the click of the shutting door and it's lock could be heard. Tahnya leaned in the doorway out of the changing area and let her eyes wander.

"Hey Yugi, look at that guy over there. Poster boy for tall, dark and handsome. Can't see his face yet, but build wise, totally Joseph's type, right?"

"Tahn, stop scoping for me!" Joey said, exasperated, though the dressing room door.

The tall brunette turned began to make his way to the changing room.

"Oh my…..dearie me. It's Seto."

"Kaib- Wait, who is? What?" Joey asked through the door, accompanied by the sounds of struggling with unfamiliar clothing.

"It's Seto with Mokuba. The guy!" Tahnya whisper yelled.

"No fucking way." The blonde replied, the door to the dressing room shaking as he fought his way into the pants.

"Totally fucking way, and coming this way!" Yugi affirmed. "And it looks like he's buying clothes?"

"Here? In the men's section?"

"No, from junior girls Joey, yes from the men's section." Tahnya teased.

"I meant, I don't know what I meant, but at the mall? You think he'd go someplace more famous."

"You mean expensive." Tahnya corrected.

"Yeah, maybe."

"I think Mokuba dragged him, he looks like he's going crazy. Are you ever coming out of there?"

"I'm pants less right now, when I achieve a state of having pants I will appear once more." Joey sighed.

"They're almost here." Yugi rejoined the conversation.

"Yugi! Tahnya! Are you guys on a date or something?" Mokuba asked by way of greeting.

"Who in our group isn't dating Tahnya?" Yugi grinned. "But sadly, no, a bunch of us are out shopping for clothes, the DoS day and drag show are almost here."

"Oh, who else is here?"

"Duke is in women's clothing, and Ryou and Bakura are at the goth store buying school girl costumes." At Mokuba's cocked eyebrow in fear and Yugi continued. "They're going a duet in the show. I think Bakura bribed Ryou into it, because otherwise I don't know how he got up the guts to do it. Anyway, and Duke is looking for an evening gown and heels."

"Tristin is going to attack him."

"Yep." Yugi grinned. "Oh, and Joey is in a changing room."

"Thanks Yugi, I love to be an afterthought." Joey called out.

"Sorry Joey!" Yugi chuckled back.

"We love you Joseph!" Tahnya giggled.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming out."

"I find it hard to believe you were ever in." Mokuba teased.

"Haha. Watch me be floored by your amazingly creative humor." Joey rolled his eyes as he opened the door. He stood there awkwardly, smoothing out his red shirt. "What do you think, honestly?"

"Joseph, I don't get how you don't think you're sexy." Tahnya gushed.

"Very nice, Joey." Yugi affirmed.

The shirt was smooth and silky, without being painfully shiny. It was slightly too big, the way Joey wore most of his shirts, but with the top button undone, exposing his collar bone and slim throat, he was a sight to behold.

"I like it." Mokuba said, nodding.

Everyone, minus Joey, turned to look at Seto. Joey simply shuffled and stared at his feet.

Under the pressure of three sets of eyes Seto spoke. "The color and cut are good, but the size is off. It's just a little too big, and the pant legs are a bit long as well."

"Well, we can't all be part grasshopper." Joey smirked.

"If you want, I can have my tailor take them in for you."

"Uh…" Joey blinked several times and blushed ever so slightly. "Thanks, I might take you up on that, on the shirt at least, I like the pant length though." He smiled genuinely, apologetically, then spoke to the group as a whole. "I'm going to go try on the clothes I had for the DoS now."

"Are you getting those?" Tahnya asked.

"Yeah, I think so."

"Wait, butt check!" She cried.

"Tahnya, really…" He sighed, exasperated, but he turned none the less.

"Bend over." She commanded.

"Jesus Tahn, I can pick out my own pants." But whipped as they all were by the transgender sweetheart, he bent over.

Seto swallowed a newly formed lump in his throat, and he placed the clothes he was holding over his lap. He thought about boring things. Broccoli. The US postal service. Shoe leather. Joey's ass.

"Alright, you pass the butt check." Tahnya smiled, shooing him back into the changing room.

While Joey scrambled around in the dressing room, his friends (including Mokuba) smiled knowingly as Seto glared at his shoes. It was obviously their fault, seeing as shoe leather was the last thing he'd thought about before moving smoothly on to Joey's posterior. Yes, it was most definitely his shoes. They had even caused him to offer help to the mutt, to make him look even better.

It wasn't long (or possibly the intense glaring make the time pass more quickly) before Joey came back out in a loose, soft looking milk chocolaty brown sweater and perfectly matching jeans (just the right faded shade).

"Oh come on! You're not wearing that to the dance! Everyone else is dressing sexy!" Yugi chastised him.

"I have to look professional, Yug."

"I still think you look sexy!" Tahnya grinned.

"Tahnya, you'd say I looked sexy if I were wearing a garbage bag."

"Only because it would be true!"

"Ok Tahn, changing now."

"Are you getting that shirt then?" Yugi asked, as Joey clicked the lock shut.

"Yeah, it's comfy and it looks decent. It does look decent, right?"

"Yes!" Yugi, Tahnya and Mokuba chorused, used to Joey's low self esteem.

"Ok, ok." Joey said, and it was not hard for any of them to picture him waving his hand dismissively.

When the blonde quitted the room Mokuba turned to his brother. "Why don't you go try those on?" He said, indicating the pile of clothes on Seto's lap.

Seto gave a curt nod and stood, silently, warily going into the room Joey had just left.

Joey put the clothes that hadn't fit, or he didn't like, on the discard rack, and took the seat Seto had left.

After some time past, and exasperated Mokuba spoke. "Seto, do you have the first outfit on?"

"No."

"Why?"

"I already tried it, I'm onto the second."

"Did the first one not fit?"

"No."

"No it didn't fit?"

"No Mokuba, it didn't not fit."

"So it fit, right?" Yugi broke in.

"Yes." Seto replied, fed up with the confused back and forth.

"Then why didn't you come out and show us?" Yugi asked, still, at seventeen, ignorant of the deep love Seto Kaiba held for privacy.

"I didn't want to."

"Did it look bad?" Joey teased.

"No, I'm just not horribly insecure like you are, mutt."

"Fuck you." Joey growled.

"I'd rather not."

Joey grunted in reply, then again when Mokuba chuckled at their antics.

Finally Seto quitted the room, holding two shirts and a pair of pants in one arm, and several other items in the other. He held out his more heavily laden arm and asked. "What do I do with these?"

Joey sulkily pointed at the rack he'd recently hung his rejected clothes on. "Want to go find Duke and head to the food court?"

"Sure." Came the semi unanimous reply (Seto didn't see a reason to answer, he knew where he'd end up either way. After all, he was a genius).

::End Part One::


	11. Mauling Part II

A/N: Jesus tap-dancing Christ on a cracker. This is the never ending story. Not that I just want it to be done and over with, but this chapter, it just keeps going! And I don't think it's even any good. Anyway, chapter nine is going to be a three parter, dirty bitch that it is. I hope you enjoy.

Review!

Fair Play

Chapter 9.333: Mauling Part II

(The second half of the one chapter to rule them all, because there was no way this was being posted any time soon if I didn't split it up.)

Luckily Duke was located quickly, the checkout girl looking at him strangely, with his collection of women's things for the show. He'd also managed to find an outfit (decidedly male) for the dance. Two outfits in three hours at the mall, this was surely a Duke Devlin record.

Dragging the less than thrilled Seto and the much more willing Mokuba along with them, they went to find Ryou and Bakura.

For a moment, it seemed that fortune smiled down on them, for, only two stores down they found the couple on a bench outside the gothic/punk rock store, bags with their purchases at their feet.

Bakura seemed to be working on a low grade pissed off sulk, while Ryou had a stir fry of an expression, one that was a mix of anger, frustration and exasperation.

"Hello Princess, why so sad?" Joey asked, his comment clearly directed at Ryou, and in a strange an entirely unidentifiable accent.

"Bakura got piercings."

And though he knew the question had not been directed at him, Bakura answered at the same time. "Ryou says no sex."

"Ohh! What'd you get pierced? Show me!" Joey exclaimed, obviously excited, then blanching. "Unless it's someplace personal."

"It's not." Ryou groaned, covering his face in his hands. "They're not." Then uncovering quickly and looking at Bakura in shock and blatant disgust. "There aren't any there, are there?"

Bakura rolled his eyes at his lover and Joey. He whipped back his hair, revealing his right ear with three cartilage piercing, one black, one silver, then another black.

He exposed the other ear, two black cartilage piercings.

"C'mon Ryou, those are awesome." Joey encouraged.

The boy's head sunk lower. "He's not done."

Bakura stuck his tongue out, showing off a silver barbell that caught the light, flashing.

"Whoa. Ryou, you're so lucky. That's going to feel so cool!" Yugi gushed, obviously jealous.

Ryou's head sank lower again. "He's not done! I'm not even sure how many there are!"

"I thought you said they didn't get personal." Joey said, worried.

"I don't think they do, but I don't really know yet. I only know for sure of one more."

Bakura lifted his shirt up, proving that his left nipple also had a ring through it (silver). "I swear my Ryou, that's it."

"How did you manage to do it? How long did you leave him alone Ry?" Mokuba asked, finally enough out of shock to join the conversation.

"I was trying clothes on, I wasn't gone long, maybe fifteen, twenty minutes top, I thought he was looking around too. But when I got out, I couldn't find him. After ten minutes of looking he comes out with that stupid cat with a canary grin."

Bakura gave them all the same obscenely proud smirk.

"Seriously Baku, how did you manage to get seven piercing in half an hour?" Joey begged to know.

"I made friends with the piercing guy."

"Friends, you didn't hurt him, please, Bakura, tell me you didn't hurt him." Ryou pleaded.

"I didn't hurt him."

"Please say you didn't- wait, you didn't?"

"No."

"You didn't threaten him?"

"No."

"You made a friend?"

Bakura just nodded. "Bill the piercing guy."

Ryou turned to the others. "Bakura interacted socially! He didn't hurt anyone! Bakura, I'm so happy!" He babbled like an idiot.

His friends likewise stared at him like he was an idiot, though (with the exception of Seto), they understood the reason for his joy.

Ryou pulled himself against Bakura's chest, attacking his lips in a deep kiss. There was a sharp click of metal on bone as Bakura's new tongue ring entered Ryou's mouth. The British boy moaned and clutched at his boyfriend's shirt.

"I guess it does feel cool." Yugi giggled.

"Ok guys, break it up." Joey tore the couple apart, earning a dangerous growl from Bakura (and everyone catching an unwanted flash of entangled tongues). "Go home and try out your new…shiny toys. I'll get Tahnya and Yugi home."

Ryou opened his mouth to speak, but in true Bakura form the tomb robber threw his lover over his shoulder and walked out of the mall without another word to the mildly surprised group.

"Think they'll make it out of the parking lot?" Yugi ventured.

"I doubt they'll make it to the car." Seto grunted.

Joey couldn't help it, regardless of whether he was supposed to be annoyed with the brunette or not, it was funny, and it was true.

Duke, who had been silent for some time, piped in over Joey's laughter. "So, food court then?"

"Yeah." Mokie, Yugi and Tahnya said as one.

Light chatter filled the gaps between bites of food, until their was no food left to bite.

"So…you guys want ice cream?" Joey asked, wistfully swirling his chopstick around in the sauce left from his bourbon chicken.

"No." Duke whined.

"Ugh." Tahnya groaned, acting as though she had eaten an entire thanksgiving dinner on her own (in fact she had only eaten a salad and lo mien).

"I should be going anyway." Duke said, getting up and pushing his chair back in. Weeks ago Seto would have thought this was rude, but he soon learned that Duke was always this sudden with his departures.

"Duke, do you mind giving me a ride home? I have a paper due on Monday and I haven't quite finished."

"Sure Tahnya, you know it's no problem."

"Do you mind Joseph?"

"No way, go get you paper done, I'll talk to you tomorrow, my dearest love." He paraphrased.

"I never said I was your dearest love." She quoted.

"Well I did."

"Well, that's alright then. I'll see you tomorrow Joseph. We'll practice our routine again?"

"Yeah, and we'll tape it so we can finally see how it looks. See you then, and Duke, tell Tristin to call me."

"Alright Joey, see you Yugi, Mokuba, bye Kaiba." There were hugs exchanged, excepting the sober CEO.

When Duke and Tahnya were gone, Joey refocused. "So…I'm going to go get ice cream, anyone want some?"

"No thanks, I want to go to the arcade, wanna come Seto?" Mokuba asked.

"No thank you Mokie." He replied, secretly wondering why Mokuba, who had easy access to the most advanced gaming equipment on earth, wanted so badly to play in the dark hole in the wall arcade of the mall.

"Ok Seto, Yugi, do you want to play?"

"Sure, and no thanks on the ice cream Joey."

"You don't know what you're missing." The blonde replied, turning around and walking towards the ice cream place as Mokuba and Yugi bolted for the arcade. Seto was left alone to wonder what this painful feeling was, and why it had appeared so suddenly, and why when Joey didn't ask him if he wanted any ice cream. Even if he had been asked he would have said no, but still, why didn't he ask?

"Tada! Happiness on a cone has arrived!" An ice cream cone appeared inches from Seto's face, held by a certain blonde mutt.

Seto just stared at the cone.

"C'mon, I can't eat both of them." Seto raised his eyebrows. "Ok, so I could, but please don't make me. I swear, this ice cream is the best."

Seto remained silent.

"Please? Just eat the ice cream?"

"Why do you even think I like ice cream?"

"Mokuba mentioned it once, and that this is your favorite flavor."

Ok, so secretly Seto was lusting inside for that perfect cone of mint chocolate chip, but he couldn't let this go. "And you remembered?"

"Yeah." Joey began licking at his own cone, still extending Seto's to him.

"Why?"

"I never knew what random thing might get you to open up." Joey confessed, though it was both guiltless and artless. He felt no embarrassment, and in fact, had done this even before he'd liked Seto.

"So you just remembered every little thing about me?"

"Pretty much." He slowly, with unintentional sexiness, licked some dripping ice cream off the back of his hand. "We always wanted to be your friends, I never knew what might help."

"You are strange mutt. Are you sure you've had all of your shots?" He asked, finally taking the offered cone.

"Yeah Kaiba, I'm sure. Is it good?"

"Yes, thank you." He grumbled, as though he wished it weren't.

There was a long pause.

And another.

And another.

And several more until they all blended together forming an awkward silence.

"So…are you going to the drag show?" Joey asked, slaying the mighty quiet with a single phrase.

"Yes."

Another pause.

"I'm performing." Joey continued proudly.

"I heard."

Another pause. Then Seto sighed, realizing that it would probably be easier, not to mention less painful, to just engage in conversation with the mutt, rather than to listen to these sad attempts.

"What are you singing?"

"A love song." The blonde replied evasively. "Well, Tahn and I are. It fits us both fairly well, just not together. Anyway…" He stopped babbling.

"So…what is Tahnya's…story…I don't really understand her."

"You mean you don't understand her gender identity."

"Yeah, I suppose I don't get her sex."

"Well, sex and gender are very different things. Tahnya was born male, with all the same bits as you and I, bio-male, that's her sex. But inside, in her actions, feelings, the way she thinks, she's always been a girl. That's gender. Basically, she was born into the wrong body. I mean, I was born into the wrong world, one where it isn't ok for men to love men, or women to love women, but at least I can create something that's mine, my family of friends, and I have myself, a wholeness and a stability there, knowing who and what I am, being able to express it, and at least have people acknowledge that it exists, whether they like it or not. Tahn has always felt disjointed, in her body and in the world. She's trying to fix that, trying to correct nature's mistake. So far she's gone through electrolysis, hormone therapy, breast augmentation, and plenty of the psychological tests and therapy you need to go through on the path to gender reassignment surgery. She's lucky she had sort of feminine feature's though, she can't get facial feminization surgery yet. I know I just told you all that…but I don't know if I should tell you her story. You're crossing my greatest strength with my greatest weakness."

Seto had been listening so intently that he'd forgotten about his ice cream, and spoke in between cleaning licks. "And what are they?"

"My strength is my loyalty to my friends, and my weakness is that I'm a horrible gossip. That's probably one of the gayest things about me."

"Except you know, liking men." Seto teased.

Again Joey was caught unawares when Seto's wit and humor collided. He laughed and smiled warmly at the boy. Why couldn't they have been like this sooner. "Yeah, excepting that. Anyway, I'll tell you a little, just to understand her better. Even though everyone looks at her and sees a girl, when she looks in the mirror she sees a man in a dress. She's terrified that that's how everyone else sees her."

"And that's why you guys?" Seto trailed off.

"Hit on her? Yeah."

"So she hasn't had the actual operation yet?"

"No…not for a few years. She's only twenty. No doctor will do it until she's older."

"But the…breasts?"

"Her parents are amazing, her mom is a lawyer, and they're both supportive of her. They argued that breast augmentation is purely cosmetic, and a whole bunch of other legal terms…and they got it done."

"Oh."

"We really do manage to lead the most complicated lives."

"Hn." Seto replied.

::End Chapter::


	12. Mauling Part III

Author's Note: Here it is everyone! The newest chapter and the final one in the "Mauling" story arc! Woot! The story has reached forty pages, and the Mauling chapters make up almost fifteen of them! Crazy shit, huh?

Well, I hope you enjoy this, to me it was sort of a means to an end (so I could get onto the rest of the story).

This chapter is dedicated to Sarah, Sam and Kate.

Chapter 7.666: Mauling Part III

"Well, I guess anything to keep things interesting. At least the apocalyptic drama has cooled down, now we're all living real lives now. I guess it stands to reason we'd have real drama. You know what I mean?"

Seto just blinked at the other boy. No one ever spoke to him like this, this often or openly. He thought the feeling could be likened to regaining feeling in your foot after it has been asleep for a long time, it's uncomfortable, tingly, but you know it needs to happen. "I-" He shook his head. "No, but I see Mokuba going through it. School, friends, crushes. He makes it seem easy."

"Well, for him it is. For a lot of people it isn't. Tahnya has a hard time with it. All of the dark halves have trouble; they aren't even from the same time period as us. Ryou is painfully shy, but getting better. And Yugi's gullible, he knows it though…The real world doesn't come easy to everyone."

"Hn." Seto crunched into a bite of ice cream cone, looking both interested and peeved at the lecture. "And what makes social intercourse so difficult for you?"

"I never said it wasn't easy for me." Joey looked a bit flustered.

Seto smirked, having finally gotten the conversation to take a turn he'd wanted it to. "But I know it is. If it weren't you'd have someone like your friends do, you wouldn't have to throw all this time and energy into the DCPA, you'd have grown outwards and inwards as well as up."

Joey nearly growled at him, but caught himself. "You want to know what makes things hard for me?"

"Would I have asked otherwise?"

"Suppose not. But I don't really feel like talking about it."

Seto blanched. He'd never known Joey to turn down a challenge, though maybe he hadn't turned him down, maybe he'd just found another way to win. It sure felt as though Seto had lost.

"No offense to you."

"Right. No offense."

"I don't mean it sarcastically. But you have to admit that insulting me isn't the best way to get me to divulge my secrets."

"And what is, inviting you to a sleepover, telling stories and having pillow fights?"

"It's more likely than the insult thing. It's hard for me to trust people, and I'm still not ready to trust you."

Seto gave a grunt in reply. There was a pause before he initiated a much needed change in subject matter. "So when did the geek squad start inbreeding?"

"Only without the breeding part…" Joey smiled, which made Seto smile back (though he would argue to the death that it was the comment that made him smile and not the blonde's grin). "Ok, so after all the apocalyptic hoo-ha, Yami went back to ancient Egypt. He thought that it was where he belonged, that he'd be happy and live out his life and play his part in history, then die. Not many people noticed the change in Yugi then. I was worried about him. He was so thin, so tired, so sad. I don't know how people missed it, but he pulled off a decent act in school. I guess Yami felt the same though, because he came back, and with his memories he can use all the powers of the millennium puzzle. He formed his own body with it, and not long later, Yugi swept him off his feet."

"What?"

"Yeah, weird, huh? Yugi made the first move. Then a month or so later, Ryou came to the game shop looking for Yugi. He was crying, it was the most awful thing I've ever seen." Joey shivered. "It was like watching someone sob off pieces of themselves until there would be nothing left. He begged Yugi to bring Bakura back. We were all surprised at that one, but it turns out that Bakura was never bad to Ryou, a little careless with their shared body, but Bakura is stupid like that. Anyway, I guess the ring isn't as strong as the puzzle, so Yami had to bring Bakura back." Joey took as deep breath, "Tristin and Duke were the most normal. Duke asked Tristin out, Tris said yes, and now they bicker like an old married couple."

"They're always like that?"

"Most of the time."

"And the others? Always that….?"

"Sappy? Oh yeah. Leaves a bad taste in the back of your mouth sometimes."

"I can see why."

"Seto! Look what Yugi won me!" Mokuba waved a hideous stuffed animal (it was either a pig or a cat). Possibly the love child of the two.

Yugi just smiled and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, he knew how ugly the thing was.

"Seto, Joey, I especially need your opinions on something." Mokuba babbled, clueless as to having interrupted any sort of conversation. "If the Blue Eyes White Dragon and the Red Eyes Black Dragon had a baby, would it be the Purple Eyes Gray Dragon?"

Seto made a face of disgust.

Joey however, looked thoughtful, then replied. "Maybe if you found nicer words. Purple…it's just sort of gross. But you know, with genetics you might end up with a Red Eyes White Dragon, or a Blue Eyes Black Dragon."

Seto made an even worse face.

"Would you draw them Seto? A big family? Please?" Mokuba begged.

"No Mokuba, I am not breeding duel monsters."

The younger boy slumped his shoulders, but didn't whine.

"Mokie, we should get home. I have work to get done tonight, and unless you want to be doing it all tomorrow, you'd better start on your homework."

"Yeah, Yeah…" Mokuba rolled his eyes. "Joey, did you still want me to film Tahnya and your practice tomorrow?"

"Only if you're finished with your homework. Otherwise we can do it on Monday. Tahnya and I will just rehearse dance steps if you can't make it."

"You're so-" Mokuba started.

"I know, I'm harsh-ing your mellow. You know the rules, homework first gayness second, it's a part of our identity, not all of it."

"Hmph. You two are so...the same!" The younger Kaiba spat before stomping away.

"He looks so much older, but he really isn't."

"No, not really." Seto agreed.

"Bye Mokie!" Yugi called at the boy's retreating back.

"See you at school Kaiba." Joey offered.

"Hn." Kaiba grunted, walking after his little brother.

"So…we're back to that then." Joey snorted once he was out of earshot.

"You're so hot for him." Yugi grinned.

"Yeah."

"You chose your song for him."

"Yeah."

"Buy me a latte?"

"Nice try, but no."

"Hn."

"Will everyone stop making that noise?"

"Hn." Yugi said again. "So what are you two doing while you sing?"

"We're dancing a slow sort of tango."

"No offense Joey, but can you tango?"

"Yes." He frowned.

"Well…I mean- it's just that you're sort of…grace challenged."

"I'm only a clutz when it comes to standing and walking, but I can dance, I've taken lessons and everything."

"Really?"

"Yes Yug, really. No one ever believes that I have any sort of talent. Why don't you come over and watch Tahnya and I practice? We wont know until tomorrow afternoon which day it's going to be, but it'll be our first dress rehearsal."

"Ok, just give me a few hours warning and I'll be there."

"Can- could just you come? No offense to Yami, but we want as few people to see it before hand as possible. With you, Mokuba and Jim the lighting guy it will be five."

"I don't have to come if you don't want me to."

"No! I want your opinion, I just don't want a ton of people there…I want to keep the shock value."

"Hn." Yugi replied, thinking deeply.

::End Chapter::


	13. The Belated VDay Special

Dedication: I must be going soft with all these dedications, but I'd like to dedicate this one to my boyfriend, even if he doesn't really appreciate my tendencies towards yaoi and isn't allowed to read this. And to Sarah because she rocks my bitches.

Little Rant: Basically I wrote this because I wanted an excuse to play around with the characters a bit. I'm not really sure how it went, but if you want to you can look at this as a separate piece from the story of Fair Play.

Disclaimer: I know I'm supposed to write these, but I almost never remember, so I'll say this now, in case I forgot in any earlier chapters or come to forget in any later ones, I don't own YuGiOh.

Fair Play:

The (Belated) Valentine's Day Special.

February 13th (This takes place before Seto and Joey talked at the health fair.)

The Kaiba Mansion 7:13 PM:

A fourteen year old boy sat alone in his room, hunched over his desk which was scattered with bits of paper, glitter, paint and lace. As we watch he shoves them aside and flips open the laptop that had been exiled to a far corner of the desk. He pulls it closer and taps the power button, the soft blue glow of Windows starting up bringing out the brown of his eyes. Immediately connecting to the internet, he surfed for some time before coming across the program he wanted, and, having the funds to do it, he purchased it. Card Maker Pro 6.0, maybe not the most creative name they could have come up with, but it was the best on the market, and much better than trying to glue glitter into the shape of the symbol for the number 3.14. Still, it was difficult to decide what to put on the card once he'd designed it.

"I wish I was a derivative so I could lay tangent to your curves?" No. Too improper, not to mention his teacher was male, and hence was sculpted, not curved. Still, it was witty and tempting. It was much better than, "Your eyes, your hair, your smile, no matter how you look at it, all adds up to one thing, the perfect man." Or "Will you my valentine?" Really, for the closest living relative of one of the smartest men on earth, he wasn't making very much progress. I mean, come on, "I think you're sweeter than 'pi'?" Mokuba Kaiba was in desperate need of some help. Mind you, there really wasn't anyone he could ask. Seto, while he was ok with Mokuba's orientation, wasn't exactly going to encourage (much less assist) him in making a valentine for his math teacher. Beside (as much as he loved his brother, he had to admit) who would want romance help from Seto Kaiba?

He couldn't call Joey, because, while the blonde would be helpful in almost any other romantic situation, Mokuba knew what he would say when he heard that his crush was also his third period teacher. It went through his head like it would if he lived in an afternoon cartoon, 'Mokuba, you know I'd love to help you, but I think this is one instance where expressing your feelings might be a bad thing. Especially because it's illegal and all.'

Mokuba made a face, getting up. Laws. Bah.

But really…it was a bad idea. Even in his head Joey gave good advice. With a sigh he fell onto his bed, giving up on his card and giving into exhaustion.

The Kame Game Shop 9:36 PM:

Yugi cuddled into his body pillow, it had been pulled out of his closet for the past few nights. Yami was sleeping in the millennium puzzle; he had been for almost a week. The intention was to make Valentine's Day special, it was only making the spirit horny and irritable. As Yami tossed and turned in his soul room, he grumbled about why Yugi had come up with this idea, but he finally fell asleep, secretly looking forward to the following night, the feeling of his arms around Yugi for the first time in days, the sound of the little sigh he makes when they kiss. As loathe as he was to admit it, it was going to be special, a night to remember.

The Home of Ryou Bakura 9:57 PM

Bakura groaned in his sleep, even then hearing the loud snores that haunted him each night. He adored his lover, would do anything for him, but even in his dreams the rumble of Ryou's sleep followed him. Still, the urge for Ryou's form, his companionship, kept Bakura from fleeing to the couch each night, and in his slumber, he edged closer to the noise that tormented him, and in a search for what could be heat, or the familiar feel and comfort of his lover's body, he tightened his embrace around Ryou. This, unexpectedly, jostled the boy, moving his head, and letting him breathe freely. The noise ceased, and Bakura smiled into Ryou's hair, before falling more deeply asleep, and beginning to snore himself. Ryou shifted under the covers, unconsciously trying to get away from the sound, and groaning a little, maybe saying something, but the words were unintelligible and lost on the sleeping Bakura.

The Luxurious Home of Duke Devlin 10:04 PM

Duke Devlin, creator of the semi-popular game (aka, not as popular as Duel Monsters) "Dungeon Dice Monsters" was curled up in bed like a teenage girl, talking to his crush. He alternately wrapped the phone cord or a lock of his hair around his finger, and chattered away to Tristin, who sat nervously on the other end. Duke's eyes flickered over to his desk as they spoke about what the couples they knew were doing for Valentine's Day. Green eyes landed on the sleek red box of chocolate, the and small wrapped package next to it. Tomorrow he would make his move.

Feburary 14th 11:30AM Domino High School:

The Advanced Anatomy Class of Ms. Amaya Tsukamura.

Joey Wheeler looked down at his desk, though the surface was relatively small, it was piled high with six boxes of chocolates, over twenty cards, some little boxes with trinkets and candy, and for some reason, two t-shirts. These are the things he had emptied his locker of throughout the day, found on his desks when he'd arrived to his classes, or been shyly handed in the halls. And it was only second period. For the second year in a row, Joey Wheeler proved to be a coveted commodity.

Ms. Tsukamura, normally a dedicated, as well as interesting teacher, because of her youth understood that no one would be paying attention in class today, and under the guise of doing her job, ordered her class to work alone or in groups and discuss chapter eight, the heart.

Yugi, Ryou and Bakura all slid over to Joey with the noise unique to the scraping of cheap desks on cheap floors. They too had the booty of the day thus far laid out before them. Each had two or three boxes of chocolate, several cards, but, making much more sense than Joey's admirers, no t-shirts. Unlike Joey however, they had no reason to care what sentiments lay with in the folded papers. They were flattered of course, but had already found their life mates, and nothing from hallmark could persuade them otherwise. And so their attentions turned to finding a match for their friend.

"So, anything catch your attention?" Yugi asked anxiously.

"Only the caramels Mokuba sent me, they're awesome."

"So nothing from your admirers?" Ryou urged.

"Not really. I mean, I haven't opened the cards yet, but still…They're mostly from girls, hence, not very interested."

Yugi and Ryou spoke as one. "So what are your plans for tonight?"

"I have to stop in at the DCPA for a few hours, I'm giving a talk about romance in a homosexual context." Both of the other boys cocked an eyebrow. "About how just because homosexual has the word sex in it, everyone focuses on that, and it's hard for gay kids growing up to realize that they can have relationships just like straight couples, with love and romance. Anyway, then I'm going home to get ready for my date." Both boys perked up at this. "Don't get excited, I'm taking Tahnya out for dinner and dancing, then we'll probably hang out at her house, watching the romance comedies we can't even imagine staring in, and splitting the box of chocolates I got her."

"Joey, you need to find someone."

"Yug, it's senior year, between school, you guys and the DCPA, my life is full, and while a relationship would be nice…and it would be great to have someone to hold and all, I'm happy enough with the way things are that I don't need to go searching for love right now. Besides, you both know who I'd want as my valentine, and that is never going to happen."

Yugi and Ryou both let their eyes flicker out the door and into the hallway, knowing that Seto Kaiba's locker was just across from the classroom, and while he wasn't there now, he usually stopped in after his lunch period, which was at a different time than theirs. Every day Joey waited for this, and watched the CEO's back as he retrieved his books, depositing the old ones before going on to his next class. It was a ritual that, at least Yugi, observed with both amusement and sadness.

"Let's go through your cards." Ryou said, shattering the silence.

They each opened one of Joey's cards, and said in a row, "Girl." "Girl." "Girl." Before placing it on the table. The rule was they only got read aloud if they were from a boy or exceedingly entertaining.

Joey reached for one with an elaborately drawn rose on it, and recognizing the style of the art, he opened it tentatively, not looking forward to what lay inside. It was from a boy who visited the DCPA a few times a week, mostly to fawn over Joey.

As Joey began to read, someone in the hall began to listen. It was a little hard not to, Joey and his friends were the closest group to the door, but still, crossing the hallway to get closer did nothing to keep their privacy.

"Dear Joey, I just want you to know on this day of love that I appreciate all that you do at the DCPA." Joey was surprised, he'd been expecting much worse, so he continued reading. "I think you're the sexiest guy at the center, and in the whole world. Please take me, I want you to be my first. XXX Robin. I don't think he means hugs for the Xs."

"Well…That was…" Joey started, but trailed off.

Yugi finished for him. "Flattering."

Seto closed his locker as close to silently as possible, and hurried away.

After a long pause, Ryou spoke,"Or disgusting. I'm going with disgusting." He inserted. "The kid has to be what, fifteen? Sixteen?"

"Fourteen. He's Mokuba's age." Joey corrected.

"Ew. That would be like fucking Mokuba!" Yugi squeeled.

"Only Mokuba's awesome. And adorable. And-"

"Oh, does someone have a crush on a younger man? Cradle robber!" Ryou teased.

"And like my younger brother. And the real younger brother of the guy I like."

"Ruin all our fun." Yugi sulked.

"Yes, forgive me for not letting you tease me into oblivion."

They went through the rest of the cards, Joey had been right, most of them were from girls, even though his orientation was common knowledge. Apparently they either found it appealing, or thought they could change him. Regardless, Joey wasn't interested. There were seven more in the pile from men, three in all propositioning him for sex, five total not (one of the four being from Mokuba, one from Yami and Yugi, one from Ryou and Bakura, one from Tristin and Duke and one from a secret admirer).

As much as Joey wondered and wished upon stars to know, he never would. But the anonymous letter was not from the one he hoped, it was not from Seto Kaiba. It was not from Mokuba Kaiba in an attempt to get the two together. It was not from Tahnya, loving him from afar. It was from a boy who Joey honestly (and by no fault of his own) didn't know was alive. They had met two, maybe three times. When they were young they had been in boy scouts for a week, that is until Joey quit and began attending Joy Scouts, the non-homophobic alternative to the boy scouts. The second time they had literally run into each other in the hallway and Joey had helped clean up his books. So don't get your hopes up, he is not Seto Kaiba. He is also not important to a story. While visiting one of the colleges he is thinking about applying to, the boy sees a ballet the school is putting on one night, and he meets an attractive and talented writer with gorgeous hazel eyes. Though the odds are against them, the two men spend the rest of their lives together, and the secret admirer quickly forgets all about Joey Wheeler.

Seto Kaiba however, who has never sent a valentine in his entire life, much less to Joey Wheeler, was fuming in the library. The conversation he had heard, the audacity, he didn't know why it bothered him so much, but it did. The fact that someone just begged for sex from Joey (and that Joey hadn't reacted with immediate outrage and rejection) infuriated him. After several minutes of tightly reigned in fury, he relaxed his muscles into the stoic poker face he had perfected over the years. He had no reason to be upset with what he had just heard. This simple thought calmed him down, and he left the library, looking no more ruffled than he had before his eavesdropping adventure.


	14. You Bounce off Me, I Stick To You

Author's Note:

I'm going to address some reviews:

Pharaohess1: Sadly, I don't think Joy Scouts really exists. I got the idea from the book "Boy Meets Boy." I think it was by David Leviathan.

To more or less everyone else. I'm trying to make this story decently realistic, so I didn't want them dating right away. Soon. I promise.

Chapter Eight: You Bounce Off Me, I Stick To You.

It was a peaceful and vanilla Sunday afternoon. Joey was alone at the DCPA, a group having let out a half hour before. Tim was at the DCGA and Tahnya was meeting with one of her many doctors.

The blonde was bent over the table in one of the most unpleasant of all possible reasons to be bent over a table. He was still cleaning out from the boys group (ages 15-18), the theme of which had been quickly forgotten as it escalated into a debate over the most attractive and eligible bachelors in Domino City. Again, all bets were on Seto Kaiba.

As Joey shuffled his papers into a somewhat ordered stack, someone standing in the doorway cleared their throat to gain his attention.

Joey whirled around, startled. "Kaiba!" He realized how unforgiving his tone sounded. "Oh, sorry, it's just, you scared me. It's been a quiet day."

Seto only gave a small noise of reply.

"You're lucky you didn't come in fifteen minutes ago. Some of the boys from group were still here, they would have torn your clothes off, then dragged you to who knows where to keep as a pet." Halfway through his statement Joey realized what he was saying, not to mention how much it aroused him, but he couldn't just stop, so he continued in shame, trying to end the embarrassment as quickly as possible.

Another non-commental noise of reply.

"Is there something you came for? Or can't you get enough of my sparkling personality?"

"Mokuba hasn't finished his homework yet…he wanted me to tell you that he couldn't come here."

"You could have called."

"He insisted that I come here for intercourse." There was a beat of pause, and then Seto realized what he'd just said and began blushing in unattractive splotches that Joey found adorable. Seto cleared his throat. "Social intercourse."

"I knew what you meant."

Still standing in the doorway, Seto looked for a moment as though he was considering bolting.

"Could you help me fold some pamphlets? I have five hundred that I need done for this coming weekend."

"I-"

"Please? I'll give you candy!"

"R-"

Joey made his cutest face. "We don't need to finish them."

"N-"  
"You don't have to do any! Just sit and talk to me!"

Seto raised a frustrated eyebrow (the rest of him was frustrated as well, but the eyebrow was the part he deemed fit (and not indecent) to raise).

"Just sit with me!"

Seto's frown grew into a smirk, then into a miniscule, but genuine smile. It was sort of like watching the Grinch's heart grow.

"Please?"

"Fine."

Seto sat down gracefully at a round table covered with paper's Joey had been going over. The blonde straightened up his work and took the piles into the office, returning with a huge stack of vibrant pink sheets.

As soon as he set them down, Seto leaned over and took a good portion of them for himself. He looked up and made what archeologists might have thought to be an early attempt at conversation. "So…why was Mokuba supposed to tape for you today?"

"Tahn and I want to know what our number really looks like. We don't trust people just saying that it looks good."

"Wisely so. I doubt that Yugi would say anything bad about it even if he were held at gunpoint."

"Maybe if Yami was held at gunpoint." Joey smiled.

"I don't know. Maybe not even then. The lover vs. the best friend, isn't that one of the age old struggles?" Non-verbally changing the subject, Seto looked at the blonde, silently indicating the papers, and with an equal lack of sound, asking how they were to be folded."

"Oh, in threes."

Reflecting back on Tahnya's words, Joey realized that he did feel like a fourteen year old girl. He kept sneaking glances at the boy across from him, his eyes zooming in on the quick fingers deftly folding the papers. Eventually noticing the silence on the other side of the table, the object of such intense study looked up and seeing Joey's gaze so intently trained on him, he slipped.

The fresh thick paper sliced into the soft skin of his finger tip. No thought as to the weakness it might reveal, he hissed on an inward breath, the sudden pain written on his face.

Joey, in a fluid motion of both mind and body, snapped out of his daze and half stood, leaning over the table to examine the damage.

"Oh, it's deep. Hold on." Joey dashed out of the room before Seto could even think to protest.

The blonde returned with a small first aid kit. "Nurse Joey to the rescue!" He grinned. (Now, I doubt that anyone will find that nearly as funny as I do, or for the same reasons, but if you think you do, mention why in your review.)

A wave of burning testosterone washed over him as the thought of Joey in a little nurse costume came to him unbidden. He could swear he felt his blood pump faster, the light throb in his finger intensifying.

"Oh, it's bleeding quite a bit." Joey babbled, sorting through the kit and retrieving a tiny piece of gauze. He pressed it to the little wound and held it there for several minutes. Seto's hands were cold and shaking, so Joey held them still, and Seto felt the comparative roughness of the other boy's hands. They were warm, almost hot.

Neither of the two mentioned that Seto could have easily taken care of himself. IT was too perfect a moment to be ruined by such trivial things as that.

Sadly, the moment, like a fire with nothing to feed on, burned out.

Joey took away the gauze and replaced it with a dot of antibiotic and a small band aid shaped like a kiss.

He smiled at Seto. "Your hands are tense." And began to rub deeply in the muscles of his palm. Slowly the hands warmed and relaxed and Joey gave a small contented sigh, picking up the kit and returning it to the office.

The passed some time in companionable silence, with the exception of the rustling papers, until Seto spoke up and said he should leave.

:End:


	15. Seto Likes To Watch

Author's Note: Two people got it! I know the whole "Nurse Joey to the rescue" thing was really weird. I thought it was funny because Seto has the same voice as Brock from Pokemon, and Brock drools over Nurse Joy. I dunno.

Anyway, here's the new chapter. It's short, because I'm trying to get to the Drag show chapters, and I'm sort of writing them all at the same time. I have a bonus chapter next, it's really short and it's already finished, so it will be up in just a few days.

But I'm so excited! I got accepted to SUNY Stony Brook! Yeah, I'm a college girl, and a New Yorker at that. Any one else? Well, I hope you like this chapter, it's a little pointless, I hope I can get back to pointedness soon.

Chapter Nine: Seto Likes To Watch

Seto's mood today was a far cry from the fuzzy happiness he left the DCPA with two days before.

Now it was a slowly simmering rage, his natural poker face lowering it to an appearance of general grumpiness.

He was in his office, the largest room in the top floor of the Kaiba Corporation building, Domino City Japan, and no where else in the country were more people fearing for their jobs at one time than beneath him. He was hitting the keys with a violence yet unknown to them (and Seto Kaiba had plenty of bad days, so those keys had seen a lot of abuse).

It was one of his weekdays at work, a Tuesday to be more precise, and any other day, for at least part of it, Mokuba would have been there with him, giving him company, making sure he remembered to eat, sleep, breathe and take breaks.

But this afternoon, on the way from school to the office, Mokuba had asked to be dropped off at the DCPA, saying that he would be home by curfew, and that Joey was going to drive.

This was all commonplace as of late, what had Seto in such a furious tizzy was that for the first time since visiting the DCPA, he wasn't invited to join them before, after or during work.

Joey and Tahnya were practicing for the drag show and Joey wanted as few people as possible there. Hn. Apparently Seto wasn't special enough to be included in those few. The only comfort was knowing that neither was Yami.

He wouldn't admit it even if you held all three of his blue eyes above a paper shredder, but Seto was sulking like a petulant child, and like most things Seto Kaiba did, he was damn good at it.

His workers were terrified, having not seen him in such a dangerous mood in over a month (since he started spending time at the DCPA, and took a leaf out of Joey's book).

But now he was reading from another volume, an old favorite, and he was in the chapter about taking your anger out on others.

He had yelled at the cleaning man who came in to empty the garbage, threatened to fire his secretary for interrupting his brooding. Well…he had called it, "important business," at the time, but since it was just in his head and he was having a fairly lucid moment, let's call it what it is.

Seto Kaiba sighed. He was frustrated in so many ways.

"Does this have to be a dress rehearsal?" Joey called from inside the men's room.

"Yes. If you can't wear your outfit just in front of us, how are you going to wear it at the drag show?" Mokuba shouted back.

"Grow a set!" Yugi chastised, kicking at the base of the door.

"You can have mine!" Tahnya offered.

"Thanks Tahn but I already have some, they're just fond of hiding."

Becoming serious, she stood tall in her heels. "Joseph, this was your idea. If you can come out of the closet, you can come out of the bathroom."

"C'mon Joey, Tahnya's being more of a man than you." Yugi said.

"Fuck you Yugi!" Both Tahnya and Joey replied, though afterwards Tahnya's hand flew to her mouth in shock at her unladylike exclamation.

"Duke, Ryou and Bakura may be the one's dressing in drag for this, but you're the only one acting like a queen." Mokuba pointed out.

"Fuck you, Mokuba." Joey said on his own.

"I'd tell Seto."

"And I'd tell Seto who you're man crushing on."

"Would not!" Mokuba nearly screeched, so panic stricken that he didn't pick up on the fact that Seto probably wouldn't care who Mokuba had a crush on if he'd just found out Joey had sex with him.

"Oh, I would." He threatened, still through the door.

"I'd tell Seto who you've been man crushing on for AGES."

Joey threw open the door in shock. "Don't you even joke about that!"

"Don't you be such a pansy about how you look."

Tahnya giggled in a way that, having heard it, you would never have guessed that she was biologically a man. Genius did indeed run in the Kaiba blood.

Smiling at her giggle, Joey looked at her, then the others, finally noticing the evil grins on their faces and that he was no longer behind the safety of his locked door. He attempted to scramble back into the DCPA bathroom.

Yugi took ahold of one arm, Tahnya and Mokuba taking the other. They dragged him into the hallway, down it and into the DCPA's large room.

Joey's eyes widened and his lips fell into a frown of dismay. All the furnerature was pushed against the walls, electrical tape was on the carpet, marking off the exact dimentions of the stage.

"Everything's moved. You destroyed my room."

"You told us to make room." Mokuba shrugged.

"But not like this! Tahnya, where were you when they did this?"

She didn't hear a word he said though because she was spinning back and forth, twirling her skirt and thinking of the flowers on the water in Fantasia.

"Tahn!"

She jumped and let out a small 'eep' of surprise. "What?"

"Why'd you let them make this mess?"

She shrugged. "You told us to make room."

It took some time, but Tahnya, Mokuba and Yugi finally managed to calm Joey down, promising to put everything back exactly how he wanted it, and they began rehersing.

Joey and Tahnya moved with each other step for step, and Mokuba followed them with his camera.

Once through: Joey and Tahnya found several points they wanted to work on.

Twice through: They thought it looked a lot better, but could still use some touching up.

Thrice through: Tahnya thought her thighs were big. Ten minutes to convince her otherwise.

Fourth time through: Joey and Tahnya hated everything about it, deciding to scrap the whole thing, song included.

Hours later, Mokuba returned home exhausted. Seto was sitting on the sofa trying to read. Mokuba flopped down next to his brother.

"You know what being bi means Seto?"

Seto cocked an eyebrow. "What?"

"It means you can realize like no one else, that both men and women are pains in the asses."

Seto rolled his eyes and turned back to his book, feeling a little better about not being invited. If Mokuba, of the infinite patience nearly cracked, he certainly would have. "Watch your language Mokie."

"Fuck that. I'm going to bed." The boy said, dragging his body up as though his limbs were filled with sand.

::End Chapter::


	16. Bonus Chapter

Fair Play

Bonus Chapter!

Hot Shit Man!

It was a Friday afternoon at the DCPA, and while not exactly packed, the center was buzzing. Kids were lounging comfortably in thrift store chairs, curled up in window seats with borrowed books or browsing the internet. There was a steady chatter from the groups that had formed, talking about everything from politics, to the best TV shows, to the hottest girls and guys. Near the offices two sofas and a chair had been gathered into what Joey thought was an isosceles triangle (though he was never very good at math, so he wouldn't have bet his life on it).

"Who wants to play spin the bottle?" Bakura asked, having just gulped down the last of his Dr. Pepper.

"Go to Kaiba's and turn it into a queer playboy mansion for all I care, but you know the rules, none of that here." Joey answered, not looking up from the notebook he was writing in.

Bakura tried to copy Yugi's sad eyes. "Please Joey?"

"You're lucky I let you guys cuddle the way you do.

"Yeah yeah." Bakura grumbled.

Tahnya changed the subject, turning to Seto. "You're going to dance with me at the next two events, aren't you Seto?"

Seto blinked at her, raising an eyebrow. "Aren't you...?"

"I'm a girl, I like boys, you're a boy..."

"But Tahnya, Girls don't like boys, girls like cars and money." Joey teased.

"Either way, she's got it with Kaiba." Bakura chuckled.

"I don't think I really know how to dance." Seto answered, trying to get out of both dancing and the spotlight.

"How can you not know how to dance?" Ryou asked incredulously.

"I just never learned."

"Well you know, all work and no play makes Seto." Bakura explained.

"A dull boy?" Mokuba asked.

Bakura grinned, "No, just Seto."

There was laughter, and then a slightly guilty drawn out pause when they realized Seto still wasn't used to their mutual teasing. This time it was Joey's turn to change the subject.

"So House is being hit on by this 17 year old girl. I'm so jealous!" He ranted.

"Of House?" Seto asked.

"Of the girl! I'd be on top of that in a second!" Joey laughed.

"You mean you'd be on top of him in a second." Yami said, winking.

Joey gave a cheeky grin, "Top? Hell, I'd bottom for him any day."

"You know, we could probably teach you to dance." Ryou inserted from nowhere. And he continued in a manner of introduction very reminiscent of the anime "Ouran Highschool Host Club," pointing to several of his friends in turn. "Joey claims he can tango, waltz and do swing, but I haven't seen proof of that yet. All of us can sex-with-clothes-on-dance, and Tahnya can tango as well as meringue."

Tahnya started in. "We could probably teach you something before the show. I've seen the way you stand sometime. You definitely have control of your hips. You just need to learn to move them with rhythm."

Bakura snorted, and everyone else followed suit, the laughter becoming a general roar. Even Seto chuckled a bit. But in the end the goal of teaching him to dance was dropped, or left to another day.


	17. What A Drag Part I

Sorry this wasn't up sooner, I've been trying for days to get it posted, but fanfiction kept giving me error reports.

Author's Note: This chapter was SUCH a pain in the ass to write. It was perfect, about two sentences away from finished, and then my computer ate it. I had to rewrite most of the chapter from what I remembered and it didn't turn out nearly as well as it had been before. Still, I hope you can at least enjoy some of it, and rest happy knowing that the drag show has finally started.

OH!

And you'll be the ones, dear audience, that votes for the winners! Please vote in a few chapters, please?!

Disclaimer: I obviously don't own YuGiOh, and the song "What is This Feeling?" belongs to Stephen Swartz, who should have won the Tony for Wicked.

Fair Play

Chapter Ten: What a Drag Part I

A drag king sauntered on stage, the spotlight following him until he came to a halt at mid-stage. He was wearing a crisp black suit, red tie, had a riding crop in one hand, a mic in the other. When he spoke, it was hard to tell that he was in fact a she. "Hello and welcome to the sixth annual DCPA drag show! Tell me you're excited to be here." The crowd roared. "What, the fuck, was that?" He rolled his eyes at them, shaking the riding crop as if to say 'no, no.' "I didn't bind my b-cups and drive fifty miles to host a half assed crowd, now, either give me a real hell yeah of a welcome, or I'm leaving." Seto covered his ears, but it did little as the crowd doubled it's efforts to impress their host. "Much better. Now, all of you who were here last year know why I'm back again…because I'm the only one who can keep these queens in line." He slapped the crop into his hand for emphasis. "For those of you who weren't here, because I know none of you forgot, I'm Warren Peace and I was invited here by your amazing staff to keep you entertained between acts, and introduce them when the queens finally get their pantyhose on straight. Last year was amazing and we've got a lot of the same performers again this year, yours truly included, but this year we're doing things a bit differently. It's going to be a competition. There will be solos and duets, and in the duets only one member has to be in drag, sometimes it'll be hard for you to tell which one it is, or if both are. At the end of the show there will be an open dance period, you'll vote then, for best solo, best duet, and best non-drag performer. The last one doesn't get a prize, except for being dragged off into the back room by either kings or queens, dragged up and forced to perform a number. That should be it, but before we get on with the show I'd like a round of applause for the people who helped put this event on it's feet. Let's give it up for Joey, Tahnya and Todd!" The crowd whistled and shrieked around Seto, who had been forced to the front of it by Mokuba. When it died down just enough that he could be heard, their host spoke again. "Alright, lets get this show on the road! Performing 'What is this feeling?' we have Ryou and Bakura!" Warren turned on his heel and as he walked offstage the lights faded to blackness. It stayed this way for a few breaths.

A spotlight started on Ryou, clad in a pink plaid miniskirt, bubblegum colored heels and white knee socks. He was holding what looked like a freshly written letter in front of his tastefully (though attractively) cut white shirt. He lowered the paper, showing off his borrowed breasts and began to speak from lightly glossed lips.

"Dearest darlingest Momsie and Popsical."

A light snapped on above Bakura, who glared at Ryou, strands of newly dyed black hair falling in his eyes. He read simply.

"My dear Father."

He took a slight step forward with his boot clad foot as they sang together.

"There's been some confusion over rooming here at Shiz."

Bakura folded his hands over his black and green pleated skirt.

"But of course, I'll care for Nessa."

Ryou took an uncommonly confident step forward, lifted an arm in feminine triumph and sang.

"But of course, I'll rise above it."

He earned an eye roll from Bakura, and they sang together again.

"For I know that's how you'd want me to respond. Yes…there's been some confusion. For you see, my room-mate is…"

Ryou looked thoughtful, taking in Bakura's black clad form before singing hesitantly.

"Unusually and exceedingly peculiar and altogether quite impossible to describe."

Bakura's glare deepened and he clenched his fists, looking straight at Ryou. "Blonde."

There were several beats in which they looked away from one another, until Ryou looked over his shoulder at Bakura, who caught him, and they both turned their backs to each other.

Ryou shivered a little. "What is this feeling? So sudden and new?"

Bakura reciprocated with a scowl. "I felt it the moment. I laid eyes on you."

Ryou bit his thumb nervously. "My pulse is rushing."

"My head is reeling." Bakura looked confused.

"My face is flushing" Ryou, looking almost panicked brought a perfectly manicured hand to his face."

Turning and stepping towards each other they sang passionately, asking:

"What is this feeling? Fervid as a flame, does it have a name? Yes! Loathing. Unadulterated loathing."

Ryou looked ready to spit. "For your face."

"Your voice." Bakura mock mimicked his lover's higher tone.

"Your clothing." Ryou made a disgusted motion towards Bakura's long sleeved back shirt, skirt and boots.

Circling each other as though about to fight, they sang, near the end looking up, ask though asking why they were so cursed.

"Let's just say - I loathe it all, ev'ry little trait, however small makes my very flesh begin to crawl with simple utter loathing. There's a strange exhilaration in such total detestation. It's so pure and strong! Though I do admit it came on fast, still I do believe that it can last and I will be loathing- loathing you- My whole life long!"

Placed there for this exact purpose, all of their friends and several DCPA members were at the front of the stage and began singing to Ryou.

"Dear Galinda, you are just too good! How do you stand it? I don't think I could! She's a terror! She's a Tartar! We don't mean to show a bias, But Galinda, you're a martyr!"

Ryou looked down angelically at them, thanking them with his gaze. "Well: these things are sent to try us!"

Their little peanut gallery started again, now joined by others in the audience that knew the song.

"Poor Galinda, forced to reside with someone so disgusticified. We all just want to tell you: We're all on your side! We share your-"

Ryou and Bakura still looked on the verge of fighting and sang:

"What is this feeling-"

The chorus of their friends alternated and overlapped lines with them in a well choreographed dance of voices. "Loathing!"

Seto looked around the room, the general lighting was dim and slightly pulsing. The air had the feeling of waves of hormones. Perhaps this was what it meant to be a teenager.

Though there was plenty of extra room, everyone was crowded as close to the stage as humanly possible, and though Seto's personal space bubble was shrinking by the day, this closeness was still beyond uncomfortable for him. He lost himself in these thoughts for almost a minute, not hearing anything, only feeling and seeing, until the chorus broke into his thoughts, via Mokuba's jumping and screaming of the lines.

"We loathe it all!"

Not another line was said before he saw something that again left him lost in thought. Stage right he could see Joey's face and hair, but not make out much else, he stood in shadow, watching his friends with enjoyment and pride radiating from his eyes.

Though Seto couldn't see it, Joey was mouthing the words and tapping his foot to the beat, but his thoughts were hardly on his friends' performance. He knew that they would do well. It was instead his own debut that he was focused on. Despite always placing himself at center stage, Joey was always second guessing himself and constantly seeking approval to evaluate his worth. But unlike many of his duels, and the countless times he had proved himself at the DCPA, tonight he was out of his element, and someone was their, playing two opposing roles in his life. Seto Kaiba was there. Seto, his harshest critic and secret crush. And tonight was the forking of two roads. If Joey messed up, possibly even if he didn't, Seto's reaction to his performance would tell him what their relationship currently was and could become. Seto could scorn him, confirming that they always had and always would be enemies, but if he reacted with approval or compassion, or more realistically for Seto, indifference, Joey would know that their relationship had…leveled up, so to speak.

It was Joey that the chorus now interrupted. "Loathing!"

Ryou and Bakura made all the motions of having a huge verbal fight, throwing their arms in the air, clenching their fists and setting their jaws, all while circling each other in a dance of searching for each other's weaknesses. Still, they sang in unison "There's a strange exhilaration-"

" Loathing." The chorus chanted.

"In such total detestation-"

"Loathing!"

"So pure, so strong!"

"So strong!" Their chorus of friends echoed.

Ryou and Bakura sang as one again. "Though I do admit it came on fast,

still I do believe that it can last! And I will be loathing, for forever loathing, truly deeply. Loathing you my whole life long!"

Ryou turned, arms folded, and sulked like a petulant child.

Bakura took a few silent steps towards Ryou, seeking revenge. "Boo!"

Ryou jumped, shrieked and the stage went black. They exited and the lights returned as their host mounted the stage. "Any of you who don't know those two, they do bicker like that in real life, and yes, it is just that hot." He fanned himself with his hand. "Now I'd like to welcome to the stage our first lady of the evening." He chuckled and dodged something red that came flying from off stage. "Our first Queen, Tina/Todd Macalister! He'll be singing 'Cause I'm a Blonde, in a beautiful wig and shoes that I wouldn't wear even when I'm a girl."

The host exited, the music started and Todd entered, but Seto's attention was quickly drawn away as Ryou and Bakura appeared beside him. Close up they were almost unrecognizable. The whole group migrated to an empty spot on the wall (no one was really close to Todd).

"You guys were amazing!" Tristin praised, only to receive an elbow from his boyfriend.

The others continued their conversation, but Seto, curious, leaned down to Mokuba and asked what had just happened.

Mokuba tried to keep a complicated practice simple for his brother. "When someone's in drag, you refer to them as the gender they're dressed as, not the one they really are. It's just an etiquette thing, and if you mess it up with a real queen, you'll end up with a stiletto in your balls."

Seto winced at the image, and for some while, lost interest in the conversation, until before he knew it, Todd's act was over and their host was back on stage, announcing the third act, and Seto, not realizing what he was doing, stopped paying attention as soon as he realized it wasn't Joey's turn.

::End Chapter::


	18. What A Drag Part II

Author's Note: I am so so so so so so sorry that it took me this long to post this. For the second time in this story my laptop is down. But as I'm finishing up all my final papers I'm finding the time to sit down and write this at my school. Oh, I do have one warning though, if this story continues late in the summer/early in the fall, my updates may be even more sparse than they are now for a while. I'm transferring to a different college, a real one, not a community college (high school 2.0).

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this, it's definitely not my best work. I'm so unfocused lately.

Oh, and I didn't know that Warren Peace was a character anywhere else, Warren was actually taken from two drag kings from my home town, the actual Warren Peace and the best, Clint Taurus.

MOST IMPORTANT! Please tell me if you want me to write Tristin and Duke's duet or Duke's solo. They'll be bonus chapters when the full story is over. I planned on writing them to take place before this, but it was just too much to put on my plate right now, especially as I'm looking forward to moving along the plot.

Fair Play

Chapter 10.?

What a Drag Part II

"Alright, next up we have a little change in plans. Tahnya Mason and Joey Wheeler, who we have to thank for planning this whole show, so give them some extra applause for that. Now, the programs say that they will be performing 'Nobody Wants to be lonely', by Christina Aguilera and Ricky Martin, but while they got everything else perfect, and as ANAL as Joey is about scheduling, they changed their mind Thursday night and will now be doing 'The Boy is Mine'." A small roar of laughter and applause followed this. "Now…by the time they made this decision, we'd already printed the voting cards…and no one told me what to do about it, so I'm going to make the executive decision. You can still vote for him. Maybe we'll make him perform as a guy. Actually, I'd like to see that. Put if you'd like him in drag or not on the card."

Backstage Joey ground his teeth a little at Warren's mischief, but Tahnya was clutching Joey's hand for dear life, and spoke through clenched teeth. "You are so lucky I love you."

"I know, no one else would have let me abuse their gender identity, but hey, now we're really doing it, one of us is in drag, right?"

"Damn straight."

"Never even thought about it." Before Tahnya could even roll her eyes he continued. "I'm going to go get in position. Remember, be the bitch I know you can be."

She took a shuddering breath and watched the show's host go past her.

"Good luck sweetie." He said, tipping his hat, turning away and wincing at the bindings on his breasts.

The lights turned a shimmering and icy blue, fitting with the piano and string music that filled the room.

Tahnya stepped out onto the stage in heels that most women couldn't walk in (much less dance in), her little red dress hugging the curves of her body (some real, some not). She radiated sex.

The gayest boys ever born (meaning Yugi, Ryou and Duke) were watching her with shock, awe and a little bit of lust.

Her sparking black hair was piled on her head in an elegant mess.

As she continued to walk to midstage it wouldn't have surprised anyone to see blue sparks come from her heels, after all, she looked like lust, come straight up from hell after a rather "invigorating" appointment with the devil.

When she stopped the audience waited with bated breath (those of them that didn't know the other member of the number) for the second of the duo to come out, the one they now knew was in drag (had they stuck with Joey as a boy, everyone would have been very confused).

Joey entered slowly, almost silently, unlike the sharp click of Tahnya's heels that said to everyone, "take me."

His blonde hair shined in the dim light, it fell smoothly down but for the little bit he had pinned back to keep it out of his eyes. His dress was less flashy than Tahnya's red satin number. It was black, went down to his knees in wispy tatters and caressed his body in a most pleasing way. Seto's eyes followed the line from the cute heels (showing off slender ankles and shapely calves), up the dress, which fell nicely across his ass, bared much of his back and shoulders, and fit just right in the front, so it gave the illusion of him being a small breasted girl.

Joey approached Tahnya looking both hesitant and determined at the same time. "Excuse me, can I please talk to you for a minute?"

Tahnya gave him the once over before replying. "Uh huh, sure you know, you look kinda familiar."

Joey still looked nervous, but her permission led him on. His voice went out to the audience. It was the voice of awkward conversations. "Yeah, you do too but, umm, I just wanted to know do you know somebody named you, you know his name." He nodded vaguely in the direction of the audience, vaguely in the direction of Seto, who was watching him intently.

Tahnya gave him a look of annoyance. "Oh, yeah definitely, I know his name."

Joey finally got to the point of this confrontation. "I just wanted to let you know he's mine."

Tahnya gave a little chuckle. "Huh... No no, he's mine!"

They sang approaching each other with the passion of women scorned. "You need to give it up. Had about enough. It's not hard to see, the boy is mine. I'm sorry that you, seem to be confused. He belongs to me. The boy is mine."

"I think it's time we got this straight. Let's sit and talk face to face, there is no way you could mistake him for your man. Are you insane?" Joey sang as sweetly as he could, as though trying not to offend, but putting in a few jabs at the end.

"You see I know that you may be, just a bit jealous of me cuz you're blind if you can't see that his love is all in me." Tahnya looked ready to laugh at Joey, playing the part of the other girl. She did indeed play the role of the bitch very well.

"You see I tried to hesitate, I didn't wanna say what they told me. He said without me he couldn't make it through the day ain't that a shame?" Joey sang, looking a little pleased with himself for having the love of this man.

"Maybe you misunderstood 'cause I can't see how he could wanna change something that's so good but my love is all it took." Tahnya shot back.

They approached eachother, looking ready for a cat fight, though it was one of sung words more than fists and claws. They sang together. "You need to give it up, had about enough it's not hard to see the boy is mine. I'm sorry that you seem to be confused.

He belongs to me, the boy is mine."

Tahnya started first. "Must you do the things you do? You keep on acting like a fool. You need to know it's me not you and if you didn't know it girl it's true."

Joey appeared unfazed by her words and even gathered strength from them. "I think that you should realize and try to understand why he is a part of my life I know it's killing you inside!" He lip synched with the voice of Brandy.

Tahnya was beginning to act annoyed. "You can say what you want to say, what we have you can't take, from the truth you can't escape. I can tell the real from the fake!"

Feeding off Tahnya's character's anger, Joey began to act frustrated as well. "When will you get the picture, you're the past, I'm the future. Get away it's my time to shine, and if you didn't know the boy is mine!"

As they sang the chorus together again Seto lost focus in his thoughts again. They were doing well. He wasn't sure if it was better than Ryou and Bakura's routine, but it was good none the less. His thoughts drifted to Joey. He did look good in the dress and heels, but Seto found himself realizing a very important fact, a confirmation of his sexuality. He thought Joey looked much better, more attractive, dressed as a man.

Tahnya glared at Joey, stepping even closer. "You can't destroy this love I found, your silly games I won't allow. The boy is mine without a doubt. You might as well throw in the towel."

Joey smirked at her frazzled act. "What makes you think that he wants you when I'm the one that brought him to this special place in my heart 'cause he was my love right from the start."

The chorus and end of the song went much the same, the two looking very close to fighting, but never doing it. The music finally faded out and they left the stage, singing the final words and looking back at each other as they went their opposite ways.

The blue lights went dark and came back on white. Warren came back on stage amidst the clapping still going on from their number. "Well, looks like they got you guys all hot and bothered." He grinned cheekily. "Sadly, this is almost the end of the show. The next half hour is going to be an open dance in which you're going to be able to vote. Ballots are in the back, just check who you liked best, and I've talked to the judges, you can still vote for Joey if you want. I'll be back in a while with the results. 'Til then, get some punch, vote and bump and grind, and don't forget the free condoms on the sides of the room."

Domino City Pride Alliance 6th Annual Drag Show Ballot (One vote for each category)

(presumably there are more acts that I didn't write)

Solos:

Todd (Cause I'm a Blonde)

Warren (When You're Evil)

Duke (Lets Fall In Love)

Pandora Boxx (All About Us)

Miss Demeanor (Gay Boyfriend)

Michael Angel (The Girl All The Bad Guys Want)

Duets:

Tahnya and Joey (The Boy is Mine)

Ryou and Bakura (What is This Feeling?)

Duke and Tristin (Ain't No Mountain High Enough)

Miss Demeanor and David Midler (The Kind of Love You Never Recover From)

Non Drag Preformer:

Joey Wheeler

Tristin Taylor

David Midler


	19. Vote or Die!

To write the new chapter I need you to vote! Please tell me who you want to win, so I know what non-drag performance you want to see dragged up!

Domino City Pride Alliance 6th Annual Drag Show Ballot (One vote for each category)

(presumably there are more acts that I didn't write)

Solos:

Todd (Cause I'm a Blonde)

Warren (When You're Evil)

Duke (Lets Fall In Love)

Pandora Boxx (All About Us)

Miss Demeanor (Gay Boyfriend)

Michael Angel (The Girl All The Bad Guys Want)

Duets:

Tahnya and Joey (The Boy is Mine)

Ryou and Bakura (What is This Feeling?)

Duke and Tristin (Ain't No Mountain High Enough)

Miss Demeanor and David Midler (The Kind of Love You Never Recover From)

Non Drag Preformer:

Joey Wheeler

Tristin Taylor

David Midler


	20. What A Drag Part III

Author's Note: Thanks all for the votes, some people reviewed in the normal way and some e-mailed their votes, so don't think I'm trying to skew the score. I'm sitting here in the computer lab trying to write this in the forty minutes before my next class.

Seriously, this was written based on the results from the first ten or so entries, in about two hours in different computer labs.

Disclaimer: Please apply this to all chapters coming before and after, LittleMissReaper does not own YGO or any of the songs in the "What A Drag" story arc.

Fair Play

Chapter 10.?: What A Drag Part III

It was only a few minutes after they left the stage (or it felt so to Seto) before Tahnya and Joey joined them on the dance floor, Tahnya still in her dress and heels, Joey, his face freshly scrubbed, clips out of his hair, and in jeans and a t-shirt. The initial conversation went as Seto would have predicted, their friends lavishing praise upon them for their show. Seto only offered that it was interesting. Had they pressed him for more he would have had to admit that while it was an entertaining performance, and well done, Ryou and Bakura's was better. When this expected chain of events finished, Seto found himself immediately whisked off to dance by Tahnya, and as he walked away with her, saw Joey being asked to dance by a mousy brown haired boy he'd seen at the center. Two dances later Joey asked to cut in. Seto blushed, then turned an even deeper red when he realized Joey was petitioning for Tahnya's company rather than his own. It was because of this that he became a wall flower, standing by the refreshment table and observing all he could see (which was quite a bit given his better than average height). Mokuba was dancing with a redhead. Yugi and Yami and Ryou and Bakura were entwined with their respective partners, dancing slow and sensually. Joey and Tahnya swayed tenderly in the middle of the floor. Seto clenched his teeth and looked away, but soon found his eyes wandering back, and meeting with a much more pleasing sight. Joey, having received an affirming look from his partner, was handing her over to Warren, their drag king host. He smiled at them before leaving, but once he had turned away, disappointment showed clear on his face. He looked around, but realized that he was socially lost in the crowd. He looked at his feet and walked almost blindly to the wall, leaning at the other end of the table from Seto. Seto was still concentrating on how Joey had weaved through the dancers, hardly looking, and with a natural rhythm that left him dazed, when Joey snatched up a cookie and munched sullenly on it. The chocolate reviving his spirits somewhat, he ventured to look around again, and turning his gaze parallel to the wall, he met eyes with Seto. Not hesitating he poured two cups of punch and approached him, no thought as to whether the other boy wanted to be alone or not.

"I hope you aren't as bored as you look." He said.

"Mutt, you can always assume that I don't look half as bored as I am."

"Well aren't you Mr. Sunshine." He handed over the punch.

Seto didn't reply, but asked instead. "It isn't spiked, is it?"

"Would I be drinking it if it were?"

Seto cocked his head to the side unintentionally.

"Alcoholism runs in my family. Don't worry, it's straight punch. Besides, I don't want you to have any excuses for anything you do tonight." He grinned cheekily.

Seto just scowled in his usual fashion, but finished his drink. When he set down his cup, his arm still extended, Joey grabbed hold of his hand.

"Come dance with me."

"Why?"

"We're the only ones alone."

"Very persuasive reasoning Socrates."

"Because I want to." He set his expression as if to say, 'there, is that reason enough?' He tugged on Seto's arm again, this time being followed into the crowd.

Joey did most of the dancing, but did it so well that Seto looked good even with his sad attempts. The music was fast at first, but gradually through the next few songs, it slowed to a pace that one could not dance to without touching your partner. When it reached this point, Joey stood awkwardly, not wanting to make the first move, still unsure of how fast to move in this endeavor, or if to move at all, after all, he still didn't really know Seto's orientation. A minute later however, he had a pretty good guess. Tentatively, Seto reached out and put a hand on Joey's shoulder, pulling him a little closer. Joey met his eyes, brows slightly raised as if to give him one more chance to change his mind, but Seto's grip was firm, if not a little shaky. Joey slowly put his arms around Seto's neck and they swayed together, turning slightly, awkwardly at first, but gaining confidence and a feel for each other with each revolution.

With neither of them noticing two songs had gone by, and both jumped when Warren appeared behind Joey, tapping him on the shoulder. The blonde shivered at their parting, doing it only reluctantly. "Joey, it's almost time to announce the winners, I need you on stage. Can you get Tahnya, Ryou and Bakura, I already have Duke and his boy."

"Tristin, Warren, his name is Tristin."

"I know, but I've known Duke for years, and anyone he dates will always be his boy." Warren replied. "So, will you get them?"

"Yeah, we'll be backstage in a few minutes." He turned to Seto. "I'll be back after they announce the winners."

"Not if you win." He replied.

"I'll try not to." Joey smiled, rolling his eyes. He dashed off an left Seto in there, to the side of the dance floor, his skin burning everywhere that Joey had touched it. He took a deep breath and tried to gain control of himself. A disgusted look on his face, Seto Kaiba slid his way through the scantily clad and gyrating crowd, trying to rejoin his brother in front of the stage. He uncomfortably shifted, distressed by the feel of having no more room between himself and the others as exists between oil and water. Mokuba met him half way, parting the crowd like Moses in low ride jeans. As they returned to their spot, Mokuba viciously taking it back from those who tried to claim it, the music suddenly stopped, the stage lights went him, and the pulsing lights of the dance flood steadied at blue.

Warren entered stage right. "Well, I hope you're all having fun, because it's almost time for us to say goodbye. In just a minute I'll be announcing the winners. The best non drag performer, or Joey, will be sent to the back, dressed up and sent out here to perform the last number, then you all need to hurry your asses out of here before your parents realize you aren't sleeping over at a friend's house. So, competing for the title of best solo we had… Todd Masters with " 'Cause I'm a Blonde", Me, with "When You're Evil", Duke Devlin with "Lets Fall in Love", The Lovely Miss Pandora Boxx with "All About Us", Miss Demeanor doing "Gay Boyfriend" and lastly, Michael Angel with "The Girl all the Bad Guys Want." As he spoke their names, all of the contestants joined him on the stage. He pulled an envelope out of his pocket. "And the winner is…Pandora Boxx performing "All About Us" !" The tall blonde drag queen bowed, smiled, did a princess wave, accepted the small trophy that Warren had just been handed and left stage with the other contestants.

"And in the duet category." Warren began once he was finished watching Pandora's ass as she walked backstage. "We had Tahnya Mason and Joey Wheeler performing "The Boy is Mine", Ryou and Bakura doing "What is This Feeling?", Duke Devlin and his boy, Tristin Taylor doing "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", and last, but certainly not least, Miss Demeanor and David Midler doing "The Kind of Love You Never Recover From." He pulled out another envelope. "And with their stirring performance, the winners are…Ryou and Bakura with "What is This Feeling"!" Warren was assaulted by Ryou's hug and his ears were pierced by the simultaneous squeal of joy. He handed them their shared trophy and sent the contestants off stage, a few of them only to return again. "Now, for the not so coveted role of best non-drag performer! The contest is between Tristin Taylor, David Midler and Joey Wheeler." At the strange roar and pointing from the audience, he turned around to see what was going on behind him. Joey wasn't there. He leaned back, looking stage left, and saw Joey clinging to some sort of metal pipe on the wall. "Joseph Wheeler! Get your butt out here now!" The blonde didn't comply, but held on still harder as Tahnya and Michael Angel tugged at him. The struggle ended however when Miss Demeanor (who happened to be a bouncer and performer at this very club) came up behind him, directed the "girls" to move, and pulled, throwing Joey over her massive shoulders and carrying him onto the stage, literally kicking and screaming.

This site was something that even Seto couldn't be jealous of, it was just too ridiculous.

"Anyway…Like I was saying…And the winner is…"He paused, and the people against the stage made a mock drum roll with their hands on the wood. "Joey Wheeler! Take him back stage Miss Demeanor, we're playing dress up! All of you, dance, finish up the last of the food," Joey grabbed the curtain as he was forcibly moved once again. "And wait to see what happens next!" He chuckled wickedly, exiting the stage himself.

A few minutes later Tahnya scampered from no where. "Mokie, I need your help! He's not cooperating." Without a word, and only a quick look at his brother, Mokuba flew off into the throng with Tahnya, leaving Seto to stand among strangers and the strange. He looked at Yugi and co. who were talking far to quickly to be understood. Definitely strange.


	21. What A Drag Part IV

Author's Notes: I know what you're all thinking, "a new chapter? Already? No wai!" But all I can say is, yes wai! College is almost done for the semester and I've finished all of my projects, the only things left to do are any assignments as they come up and to study for finals (and I don't study that much).

Disclaimer: I don't own YGO, "Bring on the Men" or black widow jeans. Google them. They're sex in pants form.

Fair Play

Chapter 10.?: What A Drag Part IV (or is it VI?)

It was some time before anything happened. Or at least, anything of interest to Seto happened. Behind him two girls broke up, to the left of him a couple was making out. Joey's friends had nearly given up on involving him, though they were in no way to blame, Seto fully understood the consequences of pushing everyone away.

Finally he looked up from his shoes when he heard the distinct noise of someone tapping on a microphone. Warren was back on stage.

"How have you all been while I was backstage trying to force a man into a dress?"

The crowd laughed.

"Sad news though, it didn't work, so we're letting him perform in men's dress…not that it was much easier. Anyway, we dressed him sexy and that's what counts, right?"

Yugi and co were looking at each other a little confused, wondering what they could have done to Joey, and also, what he was going to perform on such short notice, but the questioning couldn't go on long as Warren finished his introduction and left the stage. The lights went dark, and even Seto's trained eyes couldn't see Joey walk onto the stage. The lights faded up to a dim red of rough sex and regrets. Between this lighting and the bare stage it looked like cabaret meets film noir.

Joey was in the middle of the stage, straddling a chair that's back was facing the audience. His head hung down mournfully, resting on his arms and the back of the chair, with his blonde hair falling wispily around his shoulders. The strings played in the background, as if just warming up.

Slowly he raised his face to the crowd, amber eyes glinting in the red light, and shook his now smooth hair back from his face. His eyes locked with Seto's and his voice came out thick, sultry, and decidedly masculine over the backdrop of music and murmurs.

"Holy fuck." Seto thought, a thickness in his throat he'd never felt before.

"There was a time, I don't know when. I didn't have much time for men. But this is now and that was then, I'm learning…"

He now stood partway, one leg kneeling on the seat and his elbows propped on the back of the chair. "A boy alone, all on his own, must try to have a heart of stone." Slowly, sensually. He thrust his hips forward, throwing his head back as he sang. "So I tried not, to make it known my yearning." One of his hands went down and traced the inside of his thigh. "I try to show, I have no need, I really do…I don't succeed."

At this is voice rose in strength, he stood, fully revealing the outfit they had chosen for him. Chunky black boots, black widow jeans that were so sinfully tight around the ass and a soft looking black t-shirt that uncovered parts of his stomach as he moved. Seto swallowed preemptively, feeling his rate of salivation increase, as he noticed the last touch to Joey's outfit, an accessory that he was sure had been added against the blonde's will. A thin dark red dog collar. Seto reflected on the hell it must have been to get him into it, and was grateful to all who had risked life and limb in the endeavor.

Joey spun the chair around in a single graceful movement, standing behind it, legs spread and arms resting upon its back. The next words came from his throat and rolled up the spines of every member of the audience in a visible shiver. "So let's bring on the men!-and let the fun begin, a little touch of sin. Why wait another minute?" Two stunningly handsome men joined him on stage, though one left immediately with the chair. For a moment Joey looked surprised to see him, but recovered quickly, pulling the man to him by his tie. "Step this way, it's time for us to play, they say we may not pass this way again so let's waste no more time, bring on the men!"

During the brief pause between lines, the show's host sauntered on stage, waving the other man off. Joey looked at him, then pointedly away, singing to the audience. "I always knew…I always said, that silk and lace in black and red drive a man right off his head, it's easy." He allowed Warren to claim him in an embrace, tilting his head back onto the tall king's shoulder while finishing the line. He stepped away from Warren's arms, closer to the front of the stage, where people were waving bills at him. As he sang, and took the money, he reached down and stroked a random guy's face. "So many men. So little time. I want 'em all, is that a crime?" He questioned the audience, shrugging his shoulders.

"No!" They shouted back.

He chuckled. "I don't know why they say that I'm too easy." Warren was back, wrapping his arms around Joey, dipping him low. "They make me laugh, they make me cry." As he continued he stood upright and thrust Warren away. "They make me sick! So God knows why! We say bring on the men!" He had moved to a far side of the stage, and more people were waving money at him, shoving it in his shirt and pants when he danced close enough. "And let the fun begin, a little touch of sin, why wait another minute? Step this way, it's time for us to play, they say we may not pass this way again, so let's waste no more time. Bring on the men!"

Seto groaned as Joey dropped to his knees and took a bill from someone's mouth with his own. Beside him Mokuba was waving a bill frantically, trying to lead Joey stage left. Joey crawled catlike to his friends, where they were crawling around the stage. Warren had long since left, his job finished now that Joey was all confidence.

The blonde stood after taking some bills from the group, and took the stairs down into the audience. He approached the group, but stopped at Mokuba, bending over so their lips were within kissing distance (and thrusting his ass out in Seto's direction). "They break your heart! They take your soul! Tear you apart, and yet they somehow make you whole!" He now confronted Bakura. "So what's their game?" He tilted the thief's head towards him, with fingers under his chin, aligning their mouths. "I suppose a rose by any other name…" Their lips were almost touching and the group was so close together that he heard Seto growl behind him. "The perfume and…" He ground his hips hard into Bakura's. "The prick's the same!"

During the gap between lines he danced with several men in the audience, always staying within eyeshot of his friends and Seto, but never favoring him with his touch.

Mokuba grinned up at his brother's frustrated face and clenched teeth. As he watched Seto's expression changed from one of anger, to mild shock, to fear. Joey was walking straight towards him, and their eyes were locked, cerulean on amber. Mokuba took a few steps to the side.

As he approached Joey began to sing again. "I like to have a man for breakfast each day. I'm very social and I like it that way. By late midmorning I need something to much, so I ask over…two men for lunch." Joey circled Seto, running his fingers around his waist, finally draping his arms around him, dancing close. "And men are mad about my afternoon 'tease.' They're quite informal; I just do it to please." He smiled wickedly, turning around so he and Seto were dancing front to back. "Those triple sandwiches are my favorite ones." He turned back. "I'm also very, partial to buns!" He grabbed Seto's ass.

Instead of moving on to torture some other, more willing, soul after that forceful line, Joey continued with Seto, pressing him for a reaction.

"My healthy apatite gets strongest at night." He grinned, pressing a hand against Seto's chest. "My at home dinners are my men friends' delight." Seto wasn't quite dancing, but he also wasn't standing their passively. Pleasing looks and subtle movements both begged Joey to stop and goaded him on. "When I invite the fellas over to dine…" He dropped to his knees. "They all come early," He stood quickly and sauntered back to the stage, taking the stairs as he sang the next line. "In bed by nine!"

People were still waving money at him; he was making much more than any of the other performers, mostly because almost everyone in the audience knew him. "So let's bring on the men and let the fun begin, a little touch of sin." He felt himself up, fast and hard. "Why wait another minute? Step this way, it's time for us to play, they say we may not pass this way again, so let's waste no more time, bring on the men!" He held the last note for an impossibly long time without loosing any strength in it, making the audience shiver again.

The applause was so loud it must have been heard outside, and when Joey came from back stage, still wearing the outfit, a sheen of sweat on him, his friends crowed around, going on and on, making him turn an attractive shade of red.

"How much money did you make?" Bakura was the first to ask.

"You'll never guess."

"I don't want to guess. Just tell me!" The thief ordered.

"One hundred forty-seven dollars." I got a bunch of fives, two tens and get this, a fifty." With the exception of Joey, the group turned as one to look at Seto. He shrugged and shook his head, looking sincere. They then turned to Mokuba, who likewise said he knew nothing. The group soon dispersed for the last few dances, but before either Joey or Seto could solicit the other for a dance, Joey was asked by Todd, and was taken away.

Anything else that happened that night is unimportant. Seto didn't confess his feelings for Joey, whatever they were. And Joey didn't divulge his own attraction. But after they all helped clean up, and went their separate ways outside the club, all of them felt that what was normally a simmering tension had been cranked up to a boil.

::End Chapter::


	22. Give and Take

Author's note: Sorry for this huge gap in updates, I really don't have any excuse. Though I'm suffering from a bit of writer's block, the next few chapters are already written, I just have to type them. I guess I'm a little caught up in making this a good summer before I go away to school for the first time (I'm a transfer, moving from a community college to a school in Long Island). I hope you're all doing well, and if you could give me any suggestions for inspiration, please, I welcome them.

Also, it anyone out there has artistic tendencies, I would love it if you'd draw some of the character's new looks. I'd be willing to compensate you for your time in a short fic request. E-mail me if you're interested. reading all.

Fair Play

Chapter 11 : Give and Take

It was early evening, the sun just setting on Domino City, when Seto received a call on his private cell. The 'Mission Impossible' theme song played for the moment before he answered it, alerting him to the fact that it was security calling.

"Kaiba." He said, making his name sound like a command.

"Sir, there's a person out here demanding to be let in." The guard replied in his usual clipped fashion.

Seto snorted, "When isn't there?" He allowed a pause for a reply that didn't come. Apparently his employees were picking up on the fact that he asked them mostly rhetorical questions. "Is that all?"

"He says-" The man started.

"Send him away."

"But sir-"

"Get rid of him, Roger."

The guard shivered. When Seto Kaiba said your name, it usually meant bad things for you, should you continue on the path you're on. "Yes Mr. Kaiba."

Seto put the phone down and picked up where he'd left off on his history paper (while the work was tedious, it did need to be done). After completing only a few lines his studies were once again interrupted, though this time by someone he found hard to be mad at, and when he was, couldn't fire. Mokuba burst through the doors of his home office.

"Did you just ask the guards to send someone away a minute ago?"

"Yes."

"Why?" Mokuba asked, looking both flustered and angry.

Seto brushed away the question. "It was probably a reporter or crazed fan."

"Probably means that sometimes it isn't." Mokuba snapped. "That was Joey dropping off my text book, I asked you earlier not to send him away. Did you even ask who it was?"

Seto sat in condemning silence.

"You're lucky he's waiting." Mokuba fumed. "Call the guards and tell them to let him in, and come down and say hi." The boy ordered.

Seto, in his shock, didn't even think about the absurdity of following his younger brother's orders, and did as Mokuba said. He descended the staircase with his usual grace (which was not marble, but carpeted) and met Joey and Mokuba in the entranceway.

"Apologize to Joey."

Seto drew the line at this, narrowing his eyes.

Joey diffused the situation. "It's ok, it was kind of funny really. I haven't been patted down since the 2005 inaugural protest." He joked.

Seto growled in his mind at the idea of his guards frisking Joey.

"Why are you here?" Seto asked.

"Mokuba left a text book at the center when you two had to bolt earlier. I'm just dropping it off."

"Because I didn't tell you twice already." Mokuba said as sarcastically as a fourteen year old could.

"Take some Mandol (A/N: like midol, but for men) Mokie. I'm fine." Joey reassured him.

Most would guess from Mokuba's exterior and normally sweet disposition, that underneath all the fluff and rainbows was a sometimes volatile temper. Luckily the boy calmed as quickly as he was riled.

Joey changed the subject to facilitate Mokuba's cooling down. "So I take it you got away easily enough?"

Mokuba rolled his eyes and Seto groaned at the memory. "Fanboys." The said in exasperated unison.

Flashback

Noon. The DCPA.

A lull had come to what had been a long and active conversation.

Joey smiled, basking in the afterglow of what had been a satisfying and heated debate. He sighed and looked at his watch. "Oh wow, it's almost two, I have to get ready for boy's group." Even as the words came out off his mouth his eyes widened in realization. "Oh man." Joey said, a little bit of fear making its way into his voice.

Yugi sat up a little straighter. "What?"

"Boy's group. Mokuba, you gotta get Kaiba outta here." Joey's old accent crept in a little as his panic rose.

"Shit!" Mokuba sheiked, throwing his things haphazardly into his backpack.

"Language Mokuba." Seto scolded. Packing his things up with a little more care than his brother.

Ryou obsereved. "This could become a most unpleasant scene."

Thus far Seto's visits to the DCPA had been, in Joey's opinion, a perfectly choreographed piece of art, every time planned around boy's group. All but Seto understood that the ones who gave gays a bad name didn't spend much time at the center; they weren't involved in the community and reaped the benefits of the center without giving anything back. Instead, they came to the bi-monthly boy's group (ages 16-21) for the free food, to rant about their love troubles or newest conquest, and to try to seize the reigns of power from Joey, insisting that they could do a better job. Mokuba tore Seto from his chair, leading him to the nearest exit.

"No, you'll meet them if you go that way, come up on the balcony." Joey led them up the stairs to the balcony looking out over the room, up a set of rarely used back stairs, into a decrepit room with a desk, the remains of the vacuum cleaner from spring cleaning, and a lamp that had seen better days (like in the 1920s). Joey opened a door that led to the fire escape, leaving them on another side of the building, hopefully allowing the two a discrete exit. Joey closed the door behind them, but instead of rushing back to the center, he went to the window and watched their retreat. They'd made it to the sidewalk when Joey noticed some of the group regulars (and the most passionate in their obsession with boy billionaire Seto Kaiba), pointing at the duo from across the street.

By the time Joey was halfway down the fire escape, the whole gaggle was down almost two blocks in hot pursuit of the most eligible bachelor in Domino.

Joey admitted that their was no way he was going to catch them, and so headed downstairs to work with his less frightening attendees, waiting for Mokuba's reassuring phone call.

At length it came, Mokuba explaining how he'd forgotten his text book, and how Seto, claiming to be scarred for life, wouldn't leave the house to go get it. Joey offered to drop it off when he closed the center at six.

Joey closed the doors alone. Tahnya was on a date with the girl form of The drag king Warren Peace. It was a bittersweet feeling, hearing the lock turn without the comforting presence beside him. But Tahnya was always terrified that being transgender made her undatable, but Lori/Warren was of a different opinion. Even though she knew that Tahnya's...plumbing said otherwise, she saw Tahnya as nothing less than a woman. Still, all of this left him feeling like an unpaired sock, waiting for his match to show up in someone else's dresser, the freezer, or a desk drawer.

He pictured Seto standing with him as he closed up. Talking to him as he locked the door, and taking his hand as they walked away.

He shook his head, chuckling at his own foolishness. Shifting his bag on his shoulder, and Mokuba's book in his hand, he headed for his car in lonely silence.

End Flashback

"Yeah, we got away alright. Luckily Seto's a master at dialing a cell phone on the go, if I'd tried it I would have run into a tree." Mokuba reassured. "And the driver was only a few blocks away. It was like something out of a movie, he showed up just as we got to the corner, we jumped in and sped off. It was so cool."

"I'm glad they didn't catch you." Joey smiled. "It would have been bad publicity all around, for the community and the center."

'Spoken like a true businessman.' Seto thought.

Mokuba snorted. "Acclaimed CEO and Younger Brother Killed By Homosexual Army."

Joey covered his mouth, trying not to laugh too hard at Mokuba's fictional headline. Seto shook his head at the two of them, but ventured a try. "The tabloids would say, 'CEO Murdered as Part of Gay Agenda Plot to Rule The Economy.'"

"Tabloids? That would be FOX news." Joey corrected.

"Point." Seto conceded. There was an awkward pause after that congenial moment, and Seto turned to Mokuba. "Have you finished your homework?"

"Not the stuff from this book." He hefted the large tome into the air.

"Go upstairs and finish it. It's almost seven and you wanted me to watch a movie with you."

"But Joey's-"

"Joey should go home soon anyway. He has school tomorrow too, and probably didn't get much homework done while he was at the center."

"Actually yeah, I have a lot to do." Joey agreed.

"Fine..." Mokuba groaned. "Bye Joey, see you tomorrow." He hugged the blonde and began to head upstairs.

"'Kay Mokie, call if you can't make it."

"Right." He said, turning back towards his room.

Joey grinned at Seto, a nostalgic look in his eyes. "He and my sister should hang out sometime. Neither of them is as grown up as they like to think they are." Seto wasn't a good judge of emotions, but he was pretty sure that was sadness creeping into Joey's features, but before he could comment, the boy spoke again. "You're good with him. Even if he doesn't like some of the rules, he knows that it's what's best for him. He's a great kid."

"I know." Seto replied, a very funny feeling beginning in the pit of his stomach.

"I know. It's just nice to hear it sometimes."

Seto didn't say anything, but nodded minutely in agreement.

"I don't know if anyone ever asks you this," Joey began tentatively. "How are you doing?"

"What?" Seto asked, clearly very confused.

"I don't know, I just get the feeling that no one has the guts to ask you how you're doing, how you're feeling or what's going on in your life. They just assume that you have your company and Mokuba, and that's all you care about."

Seto leaned back against the wall. "And you don't think that?"

Joey shrugged. "I'd like to think there's more to you than that."

Seto straightened and visibly bristled at the comment, a little angry and a lot shaken. "So I'm really warm and fuzzy under this cold exterior? I'm just waiting for someone to crack through and teach me how to love?" He went on sarcastically.

Joey smiled in his head, Seto read a lot more into his comment than he'd ever meant. "No, I think you need to break out for yourself. It's your choice, no one could ever love you enough to save you if you didn't want to be. So it's either sink or swim. Grow, or go on as you always have." He replied, semi-mysteriously. He shifted his bag on his shoulder, heading for the door. He realized now that even alone, Seto wasn't ready to talk about the way they danced. "Goodnight Seto, like you said, I have a lot of stuff to do. I can't wait much longer." He spoke with conviction, betraying that there was another side to his words. Their eyes were frozen on each other until Joey shattered it, searching for the door knob.

Seto desperately wanted to say something, to stop Joey from leaving, but, aside from not being able to think of the right words to say, it seemed his throat had seized up. He made a small choking noise.

Joey turned around, startled and worried, taking a half step towards Seto. "You ok Seto?" He asked, genuine concern shining where frustration had lain only moments before.

Seto nodded mutely. "I-" He cleared his throat. "I'm fine. I'll see you tomorrow." Joey nodded, smiling warmly, finding it impossible to stay upset with Seto. He opened the door.

"Night."

"Good night." Seto replied as Joey stepped out onto the porch and closed the door behind him.


	23. Test To Impress

Author's Note: Hey all. I'm so sorry it took me this long getting this out. It's been over two months, and believe me, I've missed working on this. Since updating last I sent my laptop to California to be fixed, got it back, not fixed, sent it some place else, had it actually repaired, packed up and moved to Long Island. And let me tell you, downstate is weird! It's still warm for this time of year in my hometown, but I guess this heat is normal for around here. I should be wearing a sweater damnit!

Fair Play

Chapter 12: Test to Impress

"Ok guys, I need a HUGE favor from you all today." Joey said, sounding a little panicked as he spoke to the room of teenagers.

Yugi looked at him with concern. "Name it. You know we'd do anything for you."  
"I know Yugi, but it isn't really you I'm asking."

Yugi looked slightly offended.

"No, it's not that you can't help, it's just…you already do the thing I need."

Everyone there cocked an eyebrow or tilted their heads confused.

"Ok, Bakura, I need a big favor from you today. I need you to behave."

There was a long pause, and Bakura's look of confusion transformed into a catlike grin. "I always behave...just not well." Ryou elbowed him.

"Bakura, you need to be good today. I need all of you to be…tame. You don't need to be stuffy or overly proper, just not loud or…vulgar." Joey was pacing now, obviously picturing all of the things that could possibly go wrong. "Just sit and talk, read books, use the computers."

"Mind if we ask why?" A boy with straw colored hair asked.

"Hideki Sagawa is visiting the center today."

A wave of nonreaction splashed over Joey.

"He's a businessman, his daughter is attending Domino U. She's a lesbian and Mr. Sagawa just came out as gay earlier this year. He wants to come see the center, meet some of the leaders and kids, he's thinking about making a huge donation. This could mean more computers, more events, sending representatives to the national youth convention…Even a bigger space."

Everyone was a little scared by now. Joey seemed to be possessed.

"I just don't want anything to go wrong. Like I said though, be yourselves, just, tone it down a little. And Bakura, don't break anything, please."

Bakura nodded, a somber look on his face, knowing full well that should he do something, Joey would murder him and hide the body where it would never be found.

"Promise?"

"I promise. I won't even get up unless I have to go to the bathroom." He swore.

Reassured by these words he sank boneless into a chair. Everyone but his friends went back to what they'd been doing, albeit more quietly than they had been before.

"When should he get here?" Yugi asked.

"Four-thirty." An hour and a half. Joey had come in that morning before school, cleaned everything that could be, reposted the sign of rules that was often removed and finished this month's accounting, should Mr. Sagawa want to see the books. So everything that could be done was. Now all there was to do was the waiting.

An hour later, when Joey was starting to relax ever so slightly, Mokuba and Seto came in, fashionably late.

"Why so late?" Duke asked the other dark haired boy.

"Seto had business. Don't you ever do any of that?" Mokuba said, referring to Duke's neglected game shop.

"Never any that's more important than friends and my lover."

Tristan cuddled into him like a contented cat.

Seto sat on one end of a vacant couch, and rolled his shoulders, flinching.

"Rough day?" Joey asked, feeling even more sympathetic due to his own high stress level.

"Back to back meetings. One with government officials, one with my lawyer, and then one with another CEO."

"All before lunch." Mokuba added for him.

Bakura smirked. "That's not my idea of a rough day. It didn't involve handcuffs, and you weren't limping when you came in."

Joey had already stood and begun to make his way around the couch before Bakura had started talking, but on his way by, he cuffed the boy upside the head.

He moved behind Seto and began rubbing his shoulders. Pressing hard into Seto's tense muscles, his own stress began to lull. "Unnn." Seto began to groan. Joey sighed internally, knowing that should he express his pleasure aloud, he would never hear the end of it. Seto could still count the number of time's Joey had done this for him on one hand, but it was only after the second or third time that he had stopped protesting, it just felt too good. He did feel guilty at times for not reciprocating the gesture, but he simply lacked the talent, and the courage to ask to be taught. Other times he saw for a split second how relaxed Joey seemed after one of the sessions. How he seemed almost as satisfied from giving as Seto was, having received.

By now no one was paying attention. Joey had been rubbing Seto's shoulders for some time, and was working his way down his arms, listening and sometimes replying to his friend's conversations. He had been bent over the couch for a few moments, gently kneading Seto's right palm, when he realized how close he was to the other boy. Though Seto was facing forward, his head slumped slightly downward, their cheeks were just inches apart. Joey's breath caught, finally coming out again, harsh on Seto's neck. Joey immediately drew back, expecting Seto to turn around with anger in his eyes or fists. Instead he shuddered and arched his neck a little.

Seto was so out of it he didn't realize what he was reacting to. "Oh I'm good." Joey thought to himself, proud of his skill and feeling only slightly guilty, Joey took advantage of this moment of weakness and went further down the front of Seto's shirt than he had before. He felt cleverly hidden muscles beneath the soft shirt. He briefly wondered at the idea of planning a DCPA event at a pool or water park, just for the chance to see Seto topless, after all, he still had no idea what his abs were like.  
Sadly, all good things must come to an end, and from the doorway came a knock that was not meant to ask for entrance, but to gain the attention of one very distracted youth coordinator.

At the harsh sound both Seto and Joey snapped out of their stupor, standing straight quickly, though Joey was a little slower than Seto and their heads met with a sickening crack.

Seto looked horrified, while Joey was merely embarrassed and in pain.

"Mr. Sagawa!" They said as one. "Wait, how do you know-" They asked each other.

The older man smiled, trying not to laugh. "Mr. Wheeler, Mr. Kaiba. I'm sorry to have startled you."

Joey started talking, not really having any idea of what he was going to say. "I was just…" He trailed off.

"Understandably, Mr. Kaiba had a very long day. In part because of me. Really though Kaiba, with this, did we need to skate around the issue of your company's gay policy? You could have saved us both an hour at least."

"I-uh." Seto's right eye twitched minutely, noticeable only to Joey and Mokuba who stood closest to him.

"Well, I'm sure that you'd both like to get back to what you were doing, so why don't we complete our business as quickly as possible Mr. Wheeler? I don't think we need to worry about your stand on homosexuality."

"No, not at all." The blonde grinned, regaining some of his confidence. He led the way to the office, ushering Mr. Sagawa in, and forgetting the state Bakura had left it in, tried to close the door behind them. It promptly fell flat with a huge and echoing crash. Duke ran over and propped it up against the wall.

"Why thank you Mr. Devlin." Mr. Sagawa's voice came from the office.

"You're welcome Hedeki." Duke replied, clearly acquainted with the man through business.

Joey sat opposite Mr. Sagawa, not knowing how to start after what had just happened. Even if he didn't hear the sound of very expensive shoes pacing the floor of the main room, he would have known that Seto was freaking out. As it was, he heard those shiny black shoes clicking on the floor, and the murmurs of Mokuba trying to calm him as quietly as possible.

"Mr. Sagawa, please don't-" Joey began.

"Mr. Wheeler-"

Joey interrupted his interruption. "Joey."

He smiled. "Joey, I've spent my whole life trying to keep people out of my bedroom, do you really think I wouldn't respect yours and Kaiba's right to do what you want in yours?"

"It's not that Mr.-"

"Hedeki." He cut in, smiling kindly.

"…Hedeki." Joey said, feeling slightly uncomfortable referring to such a powerful man by his first name. "Kaiba and I aren't-"

Mr. Sagawa broke in again, an understanding look on his features. "Ready to come out yet. It's only natural. He could lose quite a bit if it isn't handled properly. When you're ready, I'll get you in touch with my head of public relations. He's brilliant."

"No. Mr. Sagawa. Kaiba and I aren't together. I don't even know if he's gay."

The man's eyes widened, clearly surprised and embarrassed, but his words hardly betrayed what his eyes conveyed. "With sexual tension like that you aren't together yet? The room was buzzing!" It seemed strange to hear the calm and polite businessman have such an outburst of flamboyancy.

Joey shifted in his seat, clearly uncomfortable with the personal focus of what was supposed to be a business meeting.

"Well, you obviously don't want to talk about this now. Let's get down to business, shall we?"

In the main room, Seto was still pacing, thinking his reputation was dead, and for the genius he was, being very stupid in not realizing that Mr. Sagawa was at a Gay Youth Center, and probably not without reason.

"Oh go, oh god. What if Mr. Sagawa thinks I'm gay? I could lose this contract, he could tell the media."

"And Mr. Sagawa is gay. I hardly think he'd be upset if you were." Duke said, as though talking to a small child or a moron.

"What?"

Mokuba looked confused. "Didn't you know? He came out at a press conference earlier this year. How did you miss that?"

Kaiba's eye twitched again. "What if he wants to go on a date?"

Mokuba rolled his own normally functioning eyes. "He's nearly twice your age, and he's had a partner since before you were born."

"How did no one know?"

"His wife hid it for him. It was a marriage of convenience, they'd been best friends since childhood, but didn't love each other." Mokuba continued.

"How do you know this?"

"I read the Gay Times."

"You're serious?"

"Yes."

Seto collapsed into a chair, rolling his shoulders more vigorously than he had earlier, trying to loosen the knots that had reformed.

"Kaiba, are you gay?" Bakura asked, leaning forward, looking almost concerned.

"What? No. Why would you- no. I'm not."

"Then why are you so upset at the idea of people finding out that you're here? You could easily explain it as being there for your brother."

Seto narrowed his eyes.

"You're gay, aren't you?"

Seto didn't answer (which was answer enough), until Joey and Mr. Sagawa emerged from the office, shook hands, and said goodbye. Seto stood.

"Good day Mr. Kaiba. It was a pleasant surprise to see you again so soon. Be good to this one, he's a keeper." He said, gesturing at Joey, who flushed red at this. Mr. Sagawa clearly thought that acting as though they were dating was the best way to make them be dating.

"I, we, good day Mr. Sagawa." He finished, giving up on protest.

The man left, after wishing everyone a nice day and complementing Joey again and again on how much he had done with so little.

As soon as he could be reasonably sure that Mr. Sagawa had pulled away, Joey tore off his tie, struggling with it in a way that made Seto's heart pound in his chest. He also wrestled himself out of his shirt, revealing a t-shirt underneath that read, "Talk Nerdy To Me." Seto smiled a little. He scanned the rest of the other boy, not realizing that he was being addressed and was watching Joey's lips, rather than listening to the sounds that were coming out of them.

"So don't worry. He won't tell anyone, I explained that you were just here for Mokuba." He lied.

Seto relaxed into his seat a bit. "Thank you." He sighed, relived. "I'm sorry about that…if I'd known, I wouldn't have been here. It must have made your meeting awkward. Did he still make the donation?"

And Joey glowed inside. Seto never said "thank you." He never said "I'm sorry." But he just had. To Joey.

"He did."

Everyone leaned forward. "How much?" Yugi asked.

"Eh. Not that much, only 200,000 a year for the next 5 years if we keep up the good work!" He squealed, quickly dropping his faked disinterest.

Bakura jumped up. "Holy fuck!"

"Yeah. Can I work here?" Yugi asked.

"Don't get excited, I'm not getting a pay raise. Honestly, I don't know what we're going to do with that much money… we have been talking about getting our own space though." He looked around with a bit of sadness at the room he'd worked out of for the last few years. With this kind of money at their disposal, it was all looking increasingly sad. The room was a rented conference hall, located in their local auditorium center. If they moved they could have hours whenever they wanted, later into the night, and not have to worry about a new show coming to town. Joey's mind of reeling. "Oh god, I have to call Toby and Todd, we need to set up a meeting with the DCPA pres, vp and Tahnya, 'cause she's the sec…"

"Don't you have a treasurer?" Seto asked.

Everyone looked at him oddly. "I'm the treasurer." Joey said, slightly annoyed that Seto didn't know this.

It was soon forgotten though, and Joey ran back into the office to make more phone calls than there were hairs on his head. By the time he'd finished, several of his friends had knocked on his door frame (his door having been propped up against the wall) to say goodbye. When he walked out, Yugi and Ryou were the only one's there. It felt much later than it was, but he still wondered why they were there.

"Why didn't you guys go home with Yam and Bakura? You didn't have to wait for me." He grinned, obviously happy that they had.

"We wanted to celebrate, but since you did take so long, the coffee's on you." Yugi smirked.

"I don't think that's how it's supposed to work."

"It is now." Ryou chimed. "Besides, we deserve payment for the information we're going to give you."

Joey just shook his head, but followed the two out, locking doors and turning off the lights. As he got in the car, he couldn't stop grinning. He started driving, already knowing where they wanted to go. As he turned towards the parking lot gate he could feel the tension in the air, both of them wanted to say something. "What is it guys?" He asked, a little exasperated, but mostly amused.

"Seto's gay." Ryou said frankly.

Joey slammed his foot down on the break, causing the car to do two things. 1) Stop violently, throwing them all forward against their seat belts, but not hard enough to do any damage. 2) Make a very bad sounding noise.

The only way any of them could describe it was as, "like the engine fell out."

After making sure his friends were ok, he got out and looked under the hood. "Great." The engine had fallen out.

::End Chapter::

Please Read and review, and if you could, give me some ideas for inspiration. I'd really planned for the story to be done by now…but I can seem to move the plot forward.


	24. Death of a Volkswagan

Author's Note: Fear people. Fear. I am in uncharted territory, aka, I am just winging it from here on out, unless I have a sudden revalation for the rest of the story.

Fair Play

Chapter 13: Death of a Volkswagen

It had been three hours since Joey's car died. It was officially late now, and they were finally at the coffee shop. Joey had called Tristan about his car, Tristan brought Duke, and when Yugi and Ryou hadn't come home two hours later, Yami and Bakura called. They were all crowded into a corner booth at the cafe. Joey's head was firmly placed on the table, and all attempts to remove it had failed.

"Joey, please sit up. It's not that bad." Yugi did his best to console him.

"But it is that bad. My car is dead."

"I'm sure they can fix-" Duke started to say, but was quickly silenced by the rapid head shaking from his lover.

"I already know it can't be fixed Tris." Joey said, still not looking up. "At least not for more than it's worth."

"You can come over to the shop tomorrow and we can see what people have posted for sale. Maybe a motorcycle."

Joey sat up and made a face. "No donor mobile for me thanks."

Tristan rolled his eyes. "I think some one is advertising old Chevy Lumina… And I remember hearing something about a little VW thing."

Joey's ears perked up, and it was suddenly not so much of a stretch to see him as a puppy. "How much?" He asked, knowing that Tristan wouldn't bother telling him about it if it didn't run.

"Four Thousand." He replied.

"I can manage it…I'll just have to save more." He relaxed more than he had since the death of his car. "What do you do when your car dies? Do you say some kind words over it?"

"Not usually, but if you feel the need, we can." Ryou reassured.

"You no talkie. You make things die." Joey tried his hardest at glaring at him.

"Yah. Ok. 'Cause your car wasn't on its last legs already. You've been saying how it was going to die for weeks."

Joey sat up a little more. "I guess so."

There was a long pause, and Ryou ventured talking again, knowing that if he didn't, the cause of the crash would never be brought up. "Kaiba's gay."

"Yeah. I heard before." Joey snapped. "Just give it up. Kaiba isn't gay and I'm not going to make a fool out of myself by asking him out. Besides, even if he were gay, the result would be the same, I'd look an idiot and he'd run like hell."

"Joey-" Yugi started, but was interrupted.

"I know you guys are trying to help. I know you're trying to be supportive, and want me to find someone to be with, but it's not helpful to make me believe something that isn't true. You mean well but just let-"

"SHUT UP!" Bakura roared.

Joey shrunk into his seat.

"Seto is gay." The tomb robber said, a little more calmly, but still panting from his outburst. "We found out today."

"While I was in the office with Mr. Sagawa? I heard that, he didn't answer you, that doesn't mean yes, it probably just means you made him really uncomfortable."

Bakura tensed, obviously stopping himself from shaking Joey. "If you'd seen his face then, you would have considered it a yes too." He opened his mouth to begin again, but Ryou put a hand over it, silencing him.

"What Bakura is going to say Joey, is that yes, there was the time while you were with Mr. Sagawa that led us to believe he was gay, but later, while you were making you phone call, something happened that confirmed it."

"Did he say he was gay?"

"No." Ryou answered.

"Did he have sex with a man right there in front of you?"

"No." He said again.

"Then I don't believe it." Joey shrugged.

"Mokuba said it." Yugi supplied.

Joey's eyed widened. There were very few people that 99 of the time, if their sibling said it about them, it was true. Seto was one of those few.

"What happened?" Joey asked, now daring to hope as he had never hoped before.

When Mr. Sagawa had gone, and Joey was sequestered in his office making desperately happy phone calls, Mokuba was still trying to calm Seto down, now because of his renewed spazzing from Mr. Sagawa's words of goodbye.

"Be good to this one. He's a keeper."

He'd acted calm around Joey, but now that the blonde was gone again, he resumed to panic.

Finally Mokuba had enough of his brother's whining. "Seto. You're here, you're queer. Get used to it." Seto gaped at his little brother and Mokuba took advantage of the rare inability to communicate. "Mr. Sagawa is gay. He's also nice, and knows what it's like to have to hide for the sake of a business. But he did come out recently, and his company is doing as well as ever. But from a business standpoint, remember, you have the upper hand in this situation, he approached you about this deal."

Seto seemed to relax the most at the last statement, the cold, calculated business one. Though he doubted it was the path his brother would take, Mokuba would make an excellent CEO one day.

Joey had for the first time in his life, listened to a story without interrupting. "So he's…gay."

"No, straight as a board." Bakura said, rolling his eyes.

"I could…ask him out?"

Yugi smiled to cover up a sad frown. "I'm sorry Joey, but I don't think he'd say yes. He still thinks it would ruin his company."

"But, we could do it quietly."

Bakura snickered. "You really never have had sex, have you? You can't do it quietly. At least not if you're doing it right."

Joey shot a glare at him. "I mean date quietly. Under the radar."

Ryou wore the same sad look as Yugi. "I don't know if you could do that. You don't think anyone should hide who they are."

"Except in certain circumstances. This would be one of them, and I wouldn't be hiding my sexuality, only he would."

Yami smiled, a little more genuinely than the two lighter halves. "You really have got it bad, haven't you?"

"A little bit." He confessed.

"A lotta bit." Duke corrected.

Tristan had a very serious look. "I think you should go for it, slowly, but go for it. But if he breaks your heart, I break his face."

Joey just rolled his eyes, knowing that while the threat was well meant, it would never be carried out.

"Ok guys, this has been a….an interesting day. And I don't know if I want to stay up to see if anything else happens."

Ryou and Bakura spoke in unison. "Same here."

"Agreed." Yami and Yugi said as one.

Tristan and Duke just shook their heads.

Joey spoke sheepishly. "So…can one of you give me a lift?"

Ryou smiled and said he'd be glad to, in his own horribly gay and British fashion. Bakura had driven their car to meet them.

::End::


	25. Death of a Volkswagan Part II

Author's Note: Over 200 hundred reviews? Well homework, the readers have spoken.

Thank you so much everyone! For all the reviews and the loyalty you've had to this story. It's been over a year and I still have some of the same readers! I am really amazed.

Oh, and I'm referring to Joey's car only by the make because I couldn't really decide on a model. It's safe to assume however, that it was not a VW beetle or Bus.

And for Joey's new car, I went to Minimum coverage is 47.40 a month! Well within Joey's budget.

And damnit! I brought in another OC. DAMNIT! I really didn't mean too, she just sort of…appeared. She's only in this one chapter though, so she's not going to take up time or anything.

Oh, and I would still LOVE it if someone who likes to draw would take on the task of rendering a scene or two from this. I asked a bunch of artists at Deviant Art if they take a look and maybe draw something. If you're on that site and I missed you, please don't be offended. I went through my favorites and wrote the people who had done Seto/Joey art I liked. If you draw but aren't part of that site, I'd love to hear from you. My e-mail is in my profile.

Fair Play

Chapter 13.5: Death of a Volkswagen Part II

It ten AM on a Saturday, and Joey's head was hard against the table top, but unlike the night before when it was stuck in frustration, this time it was in sleep. It had been after two when he got home, three by the time he made it to bed, then he had to get up at seven to walk to the center. He missed his little VW. Compared to Joey, Seto (who had just followed Mokuba in) looked bright eyed and bushy tailed. Mokuba edged up to Joey's table and bent down to his level. Joey responded to the invasion of his personal space with a soft snore. Seto thought it was rather adorable really. Mokuba jumped away.

Ryou giggled from a chair. "Let him sleep. He had a rough day yesterday."

Seto cocked an eyebrow. "He secured the largest donation the DCPA has ever received."

Bakura snorted. "And then his car died."

Mokuba looked horrified. "Xena died?"

"Xena?" Seto asked.

"Joey's car, it was the little red VW." Seto gave him a look that clearly said he remembered no such car. Mokuba turned to Tristan. "Can you fix it?"

"No way. The engine fell clear out."

Seto tried to mask his concern. "So what is the mutt going to do?"

Ignoring the term used to refer to his friend, Tristan answered. "Probably buy another junker and hope it lasts longer than this one did. He can't really afford to get a new car."

Mokuba and Seto looked at each other, seeing in one action, a solution to two people's problems. Seto nodded, giving Mokuba the ok to offer their services. "Seto's getting rid of a car. Do you think Joey would want it?"

"Does it run?" Duke asked for his more car savvy boyfriend (preventing a slew of questions that would inevitably flow if he didn't).

"Yes." Seto said, with an air of, 'why wouldn't it?'

"Then he wants it." Yugi answered.

(And here is where the author brings in real life!) "Wait." Ryou starts, sounding like a buzz kill already. "How expensive is this car?"

"I'm not going to sell it to him, I'm going to give it to him."

"Why-" Bakura began, mischief clearly on his mind, but his lover cut in.

"I don't mean like that. I mean, how much is this car going to cost to insure. I don't know how much he can afford."

"It's not a Porsche or anything…and it's a few years old. It shouldn't be that much to insure. I got it for when I need to attract less attention, but I finally gave up on that, and I never really drive it. For a while now I've been trying to decide what to do with it."

"Why not just sell it?" Tristan asked.

Both Seto and Mokuba cocked an eyebrow. Honestly Tristan.

"Ok, so you don't really need the money."

"Should I bring it up here so he can take a look?" Seto asked.

"Sure." Yami said. "It can't hurt anything.

And Seto was gone before any of them realized they'd failed to ask what kind of car it was.

"This is your idea of not attracting attention? Everyone looks at these! How the hell did you even fit? You're too damn tall!" Tristan raved.

Seto frowned at him, thinking this meant that Joey wouldn't like the car.

"I don't understand you people. Weirdos that like these little clown cars. I will not ride in that thing."

Seto let a little bit of hope show. "So you think Joey will want it?"

"He's going to love it, but I'm not going near the damn thing. It's a toy car!"

"Simmer down gorgeous." Duke soothed.

"You're not riding in it either."

Duke pouted. "But I think it's cute."

"Traitor!"

Yugi shook his head. "I'll go get Joey."

The blonde came out, rubbing his eyes. "Why are you guys all standing around a coup car?"

"It's cute." Duke replied, grinning.

"'Kay... Who's is it? Seto's?"

"It was." The CEO replied sheepishly.

Joey was still a little sleep drunk. "Did you sell it?"

Seto and Mokuba cocked an eyebrow at him.

"What? Whose is it then?"

"Yours." Seto replied.

Joey's face should have shown the frantic clash of emotion going on inside him, but instead held only one. Confusion. "What?"

Seto ground his teeth. He was not good at this. At being kind. At giving gifts. "They said your car died, and I was getting rid of this one. So I'm giving it to you."

"But the insurance?" He asked, still waking up. Seto sighed, sometimes the boy thought too much like him.

"We looked it up. It will be about fifty dollars a month, you can handle that, right? And we only checked one site, you might be able to find a better deal." Yugi chirped.

Joey cringed at the happy tone, but then seemed to snap awake. "Wait, that's my car?"

"Unless you don't want it." Seto smirked, seeing the brightness in Joey's eyes.

Joey spun around and threw a fist into the air before running to Mokuba, hugging him and twirling him around. Seto narrowed his eyes in jealousy, but it was quickly forgotten when Joey hurled himself at him, nearly sending them both crashing to earth. He hugged him tightly, but released him quickly. "Thank you, thank you!" He repeated. "It's so shiny! It's so much prettier than Xena was. What should I name it?" Then his face fell. "I can't take this. It's way too much."

"Consider it your congratulations present, and your Christmas and birthday presents for the next ten years." Mokuba smiled.  
"Promise you won't get me anything?"

"No." Mokuba replied. "But you need a car. And you're never going to find one that will run this well or last this long. We were trying to figure out what to do with it."

"And you're by far the best charity to donate it to." Kaiba meant this as a teasing insult, but Joey took it as a compliment and blushed. "Besides, you drive Mokuba all over this earth; I should be paying you as a second chauffer."

"So..." He turned away from the siblings, to his friends. "Should I take it?"

Bakura rolled his eyes (it was a motion he had by now perfected. "Hell yes!"

"Tris?"

"I looked under the hood. It's in great condition. But it's still a clown car."

"Tris."

"Take it. You need a car, and Mokie's right, you're never going to find one this good, definitely not that you can afford right now."

With Tristan's seal of approval, he turned back to Seto and Mokuba.

"And it's pretty." He heard Duke say behind him.

"Seto, are you really ok with this?"

"It wasn't just Mokuba's idea." He replied simply, leaving the rest to Joey.

As usual, it was Bakura who ruined the mood. "So I thought the extravagant gifts came after you started dating-" He started.

"But before he put out." Duke finished.

Seto tried to keep his expression neutral, but Joey could see that his ears are growing pink. "Can I drive it?" Joey asked, trying to cover the awkwardness.

"It is a car." Seto replied simply, producing the keys from his jacket pocket.

Joey shrieked in excitement and hugged Seto again before throwing himself at the car.

"C'mon guys! Get in!"

Tristan sneered. "Get in? Only Yugi and Mokuba will fit."

"Lies! Terrible terrible lies!" Joey grinned. "Get in!"

"I'll pass." Tristan said, as Duke ran for the car. "Duke, you get away from that thing!" But it was too late. Duke was in the back seat, pulling Mokuba in after him.

Joey chuckled and pulled out his brick of a cell phone (well, it was a brick compared to the sleek piece of techno-sex Seto owned). He spoke into it for a few minutes before putting it away again. "Todd's got the center, lets go get pizza!"

"Pizza?" A feminine voice said from behind them.

Joey leaned out the front window. "Bit of skirt!" She shot him a glare that made Seto proud. "Tahnya! Wanna go get pizza?"

She didn't answer. "Who's car are you in?"

"Mine!"

"What? How-Where's Xena?"

Joey looked very serious. "Xena died."

Tahnya's bottom lip wobbled. "And you replaced her this quickly?"

"I had to get a new car soon Tahn, and Seto and Mokuba were getting rid of this."

She seemed to suddenly understand. "Oh. But I thought the lavish gifts came after you were dating-  
"But before he puts out!" Duke and Bakura repeated together.

This time more than Seto's ears went red. You could see the blush creeping up from his shirt and spreading across his neck and face.

Duke scrambled out of the car, clambering over Mokuba in the process. "I'll ride with Tris to the pizza place."

"We've got Yami and Yugi." Ryou confirmed.

"So I've got Tahnya and the Kaibas. Sure, leave me with the high maintenance ones!"

"Hey!" Tahnya and Mokuba snapped.

Seto just replied with a gruff. "I could just take the car back and leave you here while we get pizza."

Joey flashed him a sexy half smile. "I didn't say it was a bad thing Seto. I like a challenge."

No one but Tahnya, Mokuba and Seto (who was standing by Joey's front door) heard this, as the others were already walking to their respective modes of transportation.

Tahnya, mistress of subtlety, threw herself in front of Seto and into the back seat with Mokuba.

Seto rolled his eyes and walked around to the front passenger seat. When his door clicked shut, Joey started the car. It growled for a moment then purred contentedly.

Joey turned to Seto, his cheeks pink with excitement (and hope, but that wasn't an expression Seto could recognize), "Does it have a name?"

"What?"

"A name. My old car was Xena. This is definitely not a Xena, its way to quiet for that."

"You name your cars?"

"Don't you?"

"He names everything." Tahnya informed him.

"So it doesn't have a name then?" He asked again.

"The others are leaving." Seto said, indicating Tristan's bike and Ryou's car pulling away. "Can we go too?"

Joey shifted the car into gear and followed Tristan's bike down Liberty. "How about Cooper?" Joey asked after they'd gone a few blocks.

"What?" Seto asked passively, he was becoming used to being confused around Joey.

"As a name for the car!"

"No."

"Why not?"

"It's too obvious."

Mokuba and Tahnya sat silently, afraid that they might kill this fragile attempt at a conversation.

"Ok, since you're made of awesome, you come up with something." Joey sulked.

"Well…is it a boy or a girl?" Seto asked tentatively, feeling that this was a stupid question to ask about an inanimate, obviously sexless object.

Joey answered as though it were a stupid question, but only because the answer should have been obvious. "Boy. Duh."

"What's it's personality like?" Seto asked after another long pause.

There was a pause in which Joey was thinking, and Tahnya could hold it back no longer. "Name it Miles!" She giggled.

Even Seto couldn't help but react to the miserable pun. He rolled his eyes and Joey made a face. "Sorry Tahn. I don't think so. What about Jacob?"

Now Tahnya made a face. "Oh yeah, I rode JACOB to work this morning. JACOB's such a smooth ride. Everyone get inside JACOB." She said, repeatedly emphasizing the name. It took Seto everything he had not to snort.

"And it was better with Xena?"

"Yes." She huffed. "Xena would kick your ass if you tried anything; Jacob sounds too timid to stand up for himself."

By now both Joey and Seto were giving each other sideways glances, wondering if she was serious.

"Tahnya, it's a car, not a date!" This time Seto did snort, and immediately threw his hand over his face in embarrassment.

Joey laughed. "I'll name the car later. We might kill Seto if we keep attempting now. He's not used to laughing."

"Don't strain yourself!" Mokuba chirped from the back seat.

"Besides," Joey continued, "we're here."

They were now parked outside Gia's Pizza, a hole in the wall type restaurant with the most mouthwatering smells wafting out of it. Tristan and Duke we're already by the door and the others were just walking up. Joey played the gentleman and held the door open, letting everyone else in first. Bakura was last and he paused once inside so he could sidle up to Joey. "So did you ask him out yet?"

"Just because he's gay doesn't mean he likes me. It's going to take time."

"Don't be stupid. He likes you."

"He calls me puppy!"

"Maybe he wants to give you a bone." Bakura said, shrugging.

"Bakura!" Joey hissed.

"Just an idea." He shrugged again.

Joey turned from the tomb robber, annoyed, but knowing that in his own way, Bakura really did mean well. He respected Joey, and liked him better than he did many of the others in the group, and like everyone else, just wanted the blonde to be happy (which included getting laid). Joey plastered a grin on his face as he approached the counter. "Gia!" A middle-aged woman with wild curly black hair leaned over the counter. She and Joey exchanged kisses on the cheeks. "Buona sera, Joey!" (A/N: Buona seraGood Evening.) She had a light Italian accent (as light as an Italian accent can get), from living here much of her life. "And my Tahnya!"

"Hello Mama." She rolled her eyes at her mother's loud but jovial voice, they also exchanged cheek kisses.

"Hello Gia, you look lovely as always." Joey grinned at her. Seto smiled at this, it was sweet of him to complement a woman covered in flour and pizza sauce.

"Grazie, Joey. So what can I get my favorite customers?"

Orders were called out in quick succession, and Seto tried to find something on the menu that looked good. This was not a problem, the problem was that everything looked good. When all but a few of them had ordered, and Tristan, Duke, Ryou and Bakura had gone to see if their booth was open, Gia noticed Seto.

"Oh, a new face. Is this one yours Joseph?"

"No, Gia. He's a friend." Joey explained, blushing.

She looked disappointed, but recovered quickly and took their orders. "Shrimp scampi alfredo pizza, please."

"Two slices?"

"Just one thanks." She shook her head and wrote down two.

"And you?" She asked Seto.

Seto still hadn't decided, but Joey's order sounded good. "I'll have the same."

"Oh. I think he is yours!" She said (loudly) behind a hand, winking.

::End Chapter:: I know this is an awkward place to end the chapter, and I promise the next one will finish this and move the plot forward some more. I seriously don't know how this happened, how the plot got this off track, but hopefully I'll get it back in the next part. I just want to get this posted because I don't know when I'll be able to finish this (my boyfriend is visiting this weekend, which is normally when I'd get some work done on this).


	26. Chara Bio's Part One

Author's Note: I know this is not a chapter and that it in no way makes up for it being so long since I've written, but so far this month I've been working on National Novel Writing Month. Now I've sort of given up and am posting this to tide you over until the next chapter is finished. Hopefully I'll have it up by Monday. I swear, I'm working on it, but the writers block on this is strong. If you have any ideas for the forward movement of the plot, please feel free to suggest. Also, if you feel that any important details about the characters have been left out, please mention it.

Fair Play Character Bios

Part 1: Seto and Joey

Fair Play Character Bios:

Seto Kaiba:

Gender: Male

Sexual Orientation: Bisexual…he thinks.

Age: 19

Grade: High school Senior

Occupation: Student, CEO of Fortune 500 Company Kaiba Corp. Legal guardian of his younger brother, Mokuba Kaiba.

Hobbies: Inventing, starting message board wars.

Guilty Pleasure: Pocky

General Info: Tall, lithe, handsome, with chestnut brown hair and icy blue eyes that many of his fans would mistakenly call "smoldering" when really, they're glaring. His mother and father died when he and Mokuba were very young (Mokuba just two and he, six). They lived in the orphanage for four years, until Gozoburo adopted them. Seto was abused by his stepfather (never sexually), and though there were many times he wished to, he did not kill his step father, in fact, it was one of his most loyal body guards (ironically assigned to him by Gozoburo). He single handedly transformed Kaiba Corp from a company of war to the leading gaming company in the industry. For some time he lived and breathed Kaiba Corp, designing many of its products and doing little else with his life. It was both his health and Mokuba that suffered. Though he was improving on his own recent events have brought about major changes. Since he saw Joey (a crush that, were he honest, he would have to admit he'd had for some time, but kept a secret to the degree that he hardly knew) at the Gay Awareness booth at the health fair, he began questioning his sexuality. Though he is still slightly uncomfortable, he has realized and come to terms with his attraction to Joey. He however has not gotten over his pride, or fears of rejection and commitment and exposure to the wrath of the media. Still, those few songs he danced to with Joey make up one of the happiest memories of his life.

Joseph James Wheeler:

Gender: Male

Sexual Orientation: Gay

Age: 18

Grade: Senior

Occupation: Student. Highly trusted youth coordinator at the Domino City Pride Alliance.

Hobbies: Planning events for the DCPA, hanging out with his friends, eating.

Guilty Pleasure: Scalding hot showers.

General Info: Instantly and irresistibly likable, Joey Wheeler is medium height, slightly muscular build and has the most charming smile of anyone in his group. Often shadowed by his bright blonde hair, are deep chocolate and caramel brown eyes. When his parents divorced when he was young, the courts gave custody of his sister to his mom, and custody of him to his father, who at the time was a capable parent. His mother moved with his sister to another town and for a while, his father did well, but when he lost his job things went downhill. Without alcohol he still had a temper, but had only ever turned his words on his family, when he began drinking he became physically abusive. Joey lived through the cuts, bruises, scrapes and minor broken bones until he turned sixteen, when he was hired as an assistant at the DCPA. It was mostly doing paperwork and filing, but it was a job, and it paid. He also worked part time at the local library, under the radar of his school, of course. Between these two jobs, the funds left over after his sister's surgery, and the small amounts of money his mother sent him, he managed to rent a tiny studio apartment in a slightly better part of town, not to mention put some away for college. Many people wondered how the large sum of money he won at duelist Kingdom disappeared, but it was simple really, he paid for his sister's surgery (which his mother could never afford, having no health insurance) and all of her follow ups (which were many), he paid off his father's gambling debts (and tried to get him help for his drinking), made a down payment on his apartment, bought a car off Tristan's brother, that did little more than run, and put the rest away for college. It was a nice amount of money, but he was determined not to touch any of it unless it was an emergency, he wanted to continue his education and one day be a social worker. When he was promoted to being a youth coordinator, both his hours and pay increased, so he was able to quit his job at the library and made just a little more money than he had with both jobs combined.

While the majority of his life has been rocky, his love life has been perpetually smooth. It had no valleys of despair, but also no peaks of joy. His two relationships had both ended, passively, for lack of a better word. He had dated two boys, kissed a few more and lusted after a lot more than that, he'd been on plenty of dates, but while he enjoyed their company and conversation, found them charming and attractive, they never really clicked. This was no fault of Joey's, he wasn't a hopeless romantic waiting for prince charming to sweep him off his feet, he'd seen too much of the real world for that. It was just never…right. For either of them. But it was hard not to look and hope for a perfect relationship, when it seemed all of his friends had found it. It was on chill nights, when he was alone in bed, wishing there were someone next to him, or even someone he could call to talk to, that he became resentful, just ever so slightly jealous of what his friends had. His second longest crush (the longest standing being an inexplicable love Mr. Darcy) was still in progress. It was on Seto Kaiba who was, in effect, a living Mr. Darcy (it wasn't a horribly rare thing that Joey pictured him in regency period attire..mmm. Boots.). He admitted his feelings of lust for Seto the first time he saw him, but it took him some time longer to realize that it ran deeper than that. It wasn't long after Mokuba started bring Seto to the center that he realized he liked him more than he'd liked anyone before.


	27. Dinner Theater

Author's Note: So I haven't written for a while and I'm having a hard time of it now…If you could give me any advice, any fics that you think would inspire me, or any ideas for what should come next, please tell me.

Anyway, things here have been much less than stellar, but hopefully I'll get over it.

Fair Play

Chapter 14: Dinner Theatre

The group sat down, settling into their favorite corner booth with their drinks. Seto took a sip of soda before tentatively speaking to Joey. "I thought you said Tahnya's mom was a lawyer?"

Tahnya grinned. "She is, but she also helps my dad out here on the weekends. He opened the place before they met, but when he proposed and she said yes, he changed the name to 'Gia's Pizza,' because he said that from then on, everything he had, everything he did was for her. Her first name is Giovanna."

Bakura broke in. "Naming a restaurant after someone…that sounds like Joey's idea of romance!"

Ryou swatted his boyfriend upside the head. "I think it's sweet Tahnya."

"Thanks Ry. And I think Bakura's wrong, Joey might love food, but I don't think he'd name a restaurant after his beloved."

Joey snorted at her choice of words. "I don't think I'd have the patience to have a restaurant to name. And besides, most names wouldn't make good pizza place names."

"My mom is so fortunate as to have one of the few names that does." Tahnya joked.

There was a pause. Normally the people in this group could only keep their mouths shut to listen to someone else talk, but they all had to internally admit that Seto's presence was making them awkward, especially since their conversations of late had revolved around him and taken place mostly at this table.

Tahnya, being the last one to have spoken, didn't think that it should be her responsibility to initiate conversation, but she was the first to think of something, and ventured anyway. "Why don't we play the question game?"

Seto hitched an eyebrow. "Question game…?"

Joey smiled excited to introduce someone to the game of his own devising. Admittedly it was a simple game, but one that had brought them much joy over the years. "It's really easy, and there really aren't any rules. Basically someone asks an interesting question that the group has to answer. One person can ask more than one question in a row and people can answer in any order. It's more of a method of conversation than a game really." Seto nodded slowly, understanding all but what kind of question should be asked. Setting the example, Joey started first. "Sexiest fictional character."

"Dr. House." Ryou and Bakura answered in unison, Ryou blushing slightly.

"Asher from the Anita Blake books." Duke smiled wistfully.

Tristan made a face. "Anita from the Anita Blake books." He countered.

Joey grinned. "Mr. Darcy or Mr. Rochester, it's almost a tie."

Bakura smirked. "I see a pattern emerging." Joey shot him a nasty look.

"If I had to pick one, I'd probably say Crowley from Good Omens." Yugi said, unsure.

"I really can't think of one." Yami confessed.

"Cornel Brandon from Sense and Sensibility." Tahnya swooned.

"Batman." Mokuba answered decidedly.

"Seconded." Joey replied.

"Again with this pattern!" Bakura teased, receiving the same nasty look.

Everyone turned to look at Seto who flushed. "I really can't think of one either."

"Ok…next question." Yugi began. "Would you rather be in a relationship where you loved the other person passionately, but never had your love reciprocated to the same degree, or be in a situation where you were loved passionately but didn't return it as much?"

"The first." Yami said.

"Same." Ryou, Bakura and Yugi said.

"That's so tragic though. I guess if I had to choose it would be the second one, just because I think it would make me less miserable. I might not stay with it, but for the time it would cause less pain."

"I'd probably say the same." Mokuba admitted.

"Likewise." Tahnya followed.

Joey didn't seem ready to speak, so Seto gave his answer. "Same as Duke."

"Joey?" Tahnya asked.

"I really can't choose one."

Seto spoke before he realized he had even opened his mouth. "You'll probably never have to."

"Why's that?" Joey cocked his head to the side, looking like a confused puppy.

Seto didn't speak now, but thought to himself, before giving himself a mental face palm. 'There's too much to love.' He quickly composed a lie. "I just think you're too stubborn to stay in a relationship that wasn't mutually satisfying."

"I'm not sure if that's a compliment or not."

"Well I think it was a compliment." Tahnya smiled, touching Joey's arm lightly.

"Sweetie, you'd try to turn anything said about me into a compliment."

Tahnya shook her head but didn't get to verbally protest because Gia was there, arms full with pizza. "I'll help you mom!" She chirped standing and taking the tray from her mother's left hand and setting plates in front of everyone.

"Gia! I only wanted one slice!" Joey, Yugi and Duke whined.

"We all only wanted one slice." Ryou smiled.

"You're too skinny. Eat." She ordered, leaving no room for further protest. Joey was hardly upset by receiving a second slice, and dug in with just enough control to not look like a fool in front of Seto. Conversation was sparse now, but body language had picked up where words had left off. All but four of them were paired off into couples, leaving Tahnya, Joey, Seto and Mokuba to use what little booth space was left to establish their relationships to each other. This was prevented however; by the way they had originally sat down. Had Mokuba and Tahnya not purposely claimed the two remaining seats on one side, surely it would have been Seto and Mokuba together, sitting a small distance apart, and Joey and Tahnya sitting much closer together. Tahnya and Mokuba looked comfortable, a cozy distance apart, but Seto and Joey, being broader in hip and shoulder than either a pubescent boy or a woman who was once a man, were uncomfortably close. Joey's leg burned from the contact with Seto and once in a while they would try to put a hand on their own lap, only to realize this meant having much of their arm touching the other, and would rest their hand again on the table. It now looked like only Tahnya and Mokuba were without partners, because Seto and Joey, residing in such a short distance and eating the same food, looked perfectly paired. Joey was then contemplating on whether he wanted this to end now, or go on forever, when fate made the decision for him. Seto's cell phone rang and he excused himself, going outside to answer it. "I'll be right back." He said, leaving the table and snapping open his phone, finally barking into it, "Kaiba."

Joey breathed deeply and reached for his soda.

"I vote when he comes back, you grab his crotch and tell him to pick you up Friday at eight." Bakura said calmly.

Both Joey and Mokuba choked on their drinks.

"How about no." Joey said, still trying to breathe properly.

Bakura looked mildly offended. "Well if you want to go further than that, fine, I was trying to be modest."

Yami rolled his eyes. "Yeah, because modesty is something you're so good at." Bakura growled, but didn't deny it, recalling all the 'incidents', as he called them, where he suddenly found himself naked.

Seto came back in though and the question of Bakura's propriety and what Joey should or shouldn't do was dropped. Seto look frustrated and slightly like he had tried to pull his own hair out.

Mokuba was the first to ask. "What's wrong?"

"Some of my…business associates are causing trouble in Osaka."

"Why?" The boy cocked an eyebrow.

"Because of me doing business with Mr. Sagawa."

There was a very awkward silence. In such a close knit group they were often sheltered by each other from the world's homophobia, this drastic proof of intolerance left them searching for words.

Joey finally spoke. "I can hook you up with a civil rights lawyer, if you want. Someone who specialized in discrimination cases?"

"Thanks, but no. I don't need a lawyer." He rubbed his temples. "I'm just going to have to go out of town for a few days. Mokuba, I'm going to have to call the nanny service."

Mokuba bristled at this. "Why? They send the most horrible people! I'm fifteen! I can stay home on my own for a few days!"

"Hardly. You'd eat nothing but junk food, play video games all night, ignore your homework and probably end up kidnapped."

Faced with this reasoning, Mokuba had only one comeback left to him. "Would not!"

Seto took out his cell phone. "I'm calling the nanny service, Mokuba."

"I could watch him." Joey offered, earning first a grateful, then resentful look from Mokuba. "I mean, he could stay with me. He's a good kid and the Day of Silence is this coming Friday and I could really use some help with the last minute preparations."

Seto considered it for a second, but under pleading looks from Mokuba and thoughts of Joey's recently proven responsibility, he consented and immediately began rattling off a list of instructions on how to care for his little brother.

Joey was about to make a joke about Mokuba being a moguai and not being able to feed him after midnight when he realized big this was for Seto. He had probably never left Mokuba with anyone without professional training. Joey stopped him with a somber look. "I'll take care of him like he was my own brother, Seto. He'll be fine."

The brunette relaxed a little bit. "I know." There was a pause. "I'd better get going. You can stop by our house tonight to pick up his clothes and school things, or you can just stay there with him."

"I'll bring him back to my place if that's ok with Mokie." They both turned to the younger Kaiba brother, who was doing a "no nanny/I'm staying over at Joey's" dance in his seat. He stopped and blushed. "Yeah, it's fine with me."

Seto and Joey both reached for a napkin at the same time and awkwardly explained. "Phone number…" Seto tore the paper in half and wrote his personal cell number on one piece, Joey wrote his number on the second and they switched.

"Thanks p-Joey." Seto said, a little pink in the cheeks.

"No problem."

"I'm not sure how many days I'll be gone. So I'll leave some money on the table at home so you can order out a few nights." He didn't stop speaking long enough for Joey to protest, but walked over to Mokuba's seat and ruffled the boy's hair before hugging him. "I'll call you when I get to Osaka. Do your homework, behave and try not to kill Joey."

Mokuba rolled his eyes, hugging back. "I will."

"Thanks again Joey." He turned to everyone else and waved awkwardly. "Bye."

The door had not long been closed behind him when Bakura leaned forward, grinning knowingly at Joey. "You switched numbers."

"Because I'm Mokuba's baby sitter!" He flushed indignantly.

Both ignored Mokuba's protest of, "Hey!" and Bakura continued.

"I bet there's something else he'd like you to sit on."

"Bakura!" Ryou said, tugging on his lover's earrings.

"WHAT?" He said, trying to follow his love's hand to avoid further pain. Ryou simply pointed to Mokuba who looked scarred for life. "He's fifteen. He can handle it!" Bakura said in his defense.

Joey stood up laughing and motioned Mokuba away from Tahnya, who was rubbing his back sympathetically. "Let's go get your stuff, Mokie. Tahnya, want me to drop you off on the way?"

"No, my mom is probably going to head home soon, I'll get a ride from her. Thanks though."

Joey and Mokuba hugged almost everyone goodbye, and began to walk away, but were forced to look back by Bakura yelling, "Take pictures of Kaiba's mansion for me!"

Joey and Mokuba both flicked the spirit off and kept walking towards Joey's new car, one happy he wasn't going to be eating steamed veggies for five days and the other because of too many reasons to count.

End chapter

The next chapter covers getting Mokie's stuff, what happens to Seto in Osaka and Mokuba and Joey's extended sleepover. After that it's FINALLY the Day of Silence chapter.


	28. The Chapter That Shall Not Be Named Pt1

Author's Note: I'm really sorry that I haven't been updating but now I have the next chapter and a half drafted, so hopefully I'll be getting those typed up soon. I really can't believe that I've been at this so long that it's time for another Valentine's special. I'll try to write that tomorrow (oh god, today now…). It will be short, but I'll try to make it fun. I would have done that, but this chapter was already half written…so…

Anyway, I hope you all have someone to spend today with, or if you're like me you find solace in watching Bridget Jones and gnawing on a Hershey bar (my boyfriend is 500 miles away).

Disclaimer: I really forget to do these so often…I still don't own YuGiOh. Proof of this is the fact that the majority of the characters are not open about their man-love.

Fair Play

Chapter 15.5: That Chapter That Shall Not Be Named Pt I

Joey and Mokuba were still sitting comfortably in Gia's Pizza as Seto boarded his plane to Osaka. He settled himself into one of the plush seats, took a bottle of water from the mini-fridge and fastened himself in, trying to relax for take off. The jet (in no way resembling any duel monster) slowly rolled into position on the runway as Seto checked items off his mental to do list. By the time they were in the air, he was finished and was satisfied that he'd not forgotten anything, including the paperwork transferring ownership of the car from himself to Joey.

The seatbelt light turned off and he leaned back, closing his eyes. This was easily the calmest he had ever felt leaving Mokuba.

Joey felt his good fortune as he stepped into the Kaiba mansion for the second time. He was sure that as numbers go, there were few who didn't live or work in the building that could claim this privilege. He knew none of his group could, and they were the closest thing the elder Kaiba had to friends. As for Mokuba, he preferred other people's houses to his own, despite it's many attractions.

This only confirmed for Joey that money couldn't buy happiness. 'Still.' He thought, looking around. 'It can more than cover the essentials.'

On a smooth dark wooden table near the door there were two envelopes (one manila and one standard) and two folded sheets of paper (One labeled "Joey" and the other "Mokuba", both in the same neat hand). Mokuba was the first to notice that the small wastebasket by the table seemed to be brimming with the confetti of failed notes. Both boys were curious, but the pages looked so thoroughly shredded that it would be impossible to piece them back together. Instead, Mokuba handed Joey his note, read his own in silence and reached for the white envelope. With a whistle he handed it to Joey. "My brother is insane."

He also looked inside. "Or a bit stupid." Joey replied, counting out the bills. "Five hundred dollars. How the fuck long does he think he's going to be gone?"

"This should only take a day or two, especially since Seto is pissed." Mokuba paused here and Joey thought for a moment. Seto really hadn't seemed all that mad, but then again, whenever Seto had the most reason to be upset, he always seemed icy cold and calm. Mokuba continued, interrupting Joey's thoughts. "But he was supposed to take a trip there in a few weeks anyway, so I wouldn't be surprised if he took care of that business while he was there. So…five days…probably."

Joey just nodded and let Mokuba give him a mini tour of the house. Though he was impressed, he was thinking only of the note in his hand and the manila envelope, now in his backpack, making the mini coup really his. He'd been waiting for a moment when Mokuba was distracted enough to not notice him reading his note, but now he wasn't so sure he should even open it. Not knowing allowed him to fantasize about what could be on the page, rather than what was.

Mokuba led him upstairs to his room and began packing. Though Joey had never seen Mokuba's room before, he was sure that it had only in the past year or changed from the room of a child to the room of a teen. It seemed awkward in some ways, with sparse furniture and decorations, as though Mokuba was unsure of what to do with it now that it didn't revolve around toys.

Some things though, were apparently innate. Mokuba packed much of his clothing from what was scattered on the floor. Only socks and boxers came from the dresser.

While Mokuba was busy cramming as much stuff as possible into his bags, Joey flopped into the lonely mushroom chair in the corner, deciding that he really didn't have a choice but to read the note. Especially because both he and Mokuba believed that what he held in the hand was the sole survivor of an army of notes, the pinnacle of note evolution, wrought with Seto's own hands. Ok, so it wasn't as dramatic as all that, but he did believe that the shredded notes in the garbage were once meant for him. It would be cruel to let so much effort go to waste, just for his little fantasy. And reality is what we have to deal with…

He unfolded the page:

Joey,

Thank you again for watching Mokuba. I left some money so you could order food, I think it should be enough, even with the way you two eat. Please make sure he doesn't just eat junk though. I shouldn't be gone more than five days, and Mokuba shouldn't be much trouble for you. Feel free to call me if you have to.

Gratefully,

Seto Kaiba

Wow, worst letter in history. "Gratefully"? Couldn't he have ended it "yours" or something that left him with a little bit of hope? There was a post script, but it was scribbled out so thoroughly that he couldn't make it out. Seto must have not liked it, but had run out of time to write another note. So this enigmatic P.S. was all he had for hope.

"Should I bring my deck?" Mokuba asked.

"Wa? Oh, sure. I haven't dueled in a while, it'll be fun." Joey answered, not really all there. Satisfied with this answer, Mokuba again began scrambling around the room, grabbing things he might, in some strange reality, need. "Mokuba, you do realize you're not moving in with me…right?" Mokuba just laughed. "Do you want to stop and rent some movies on the way back?"

"We can just raid the collection down stairs. I haven't seen most of them."

"Sounds good to me."

Mokuba finished his spastic method of packing and he and Joey each hefted one of the bags onto their shoulders. They then chose a few movies and, after locking the door, made for Joey's shiny new mini coup.

A few blocks away from the Kaiba household Joey breeched the subject they had left to lie until now, as neither really knew how to bring it up. "If he told you in confidence, please don't say anything…but I wanted to know something about your brother…" He trailed off, knowing Mokuba would understand.

"He probably didn't want me to tell anyone-"

"Then don't."

"BUT, I think a lot less people would get together if everyone kept secrets."

Joey chuckled. "Though a lot fewer would break up."

"At first he told me he might be bisexual…but by the end of the conversation he admitted that he had never really felt anything towards women." This time the information didn't result in the death of a car, which was lucky, as Joey didn't expect that the Kaiba's had another one to spare on him. It instead hit Joey in the stomach, bursting into a tickling sensation that threatened to make him quite high. Still Joey however, he looked over at Mokuba and realized the boy wanted to say something, but was holding back.

"You ok?" He asked, keeping his eyes on the road.

"I was just thinking, if you and Seto got together, would you be my brother?"

Joey was shocked, but grinned. "Kid, I already think of you as a brother. I'm not sure dating your brother could make me care about you more. I don't think there's anything that could."

Mokuba smiled with joy on his lips but sadness in his eyes. "I've, well…we've never had anyone else that cared about us. I guess we did once actually, but only Seto can remember our parents, I've only seen pictures and headstones."

Joey wasn't sure what could be said at this point. Nothing could heal the wound of losing someone, and nothing could bring them back. Instead, at the next stop light, he took a hand off the wheel and squeezed Mokuba's arm gently. There was a pause until they were almost to Joey's apartment. "You have family now." He said.

Mokuba smiled, then frowned. "Seto would too if he'd get his head out of his ass."

Joey smiled. "Hey, I think he's been peeking out every once in a while lately."

They laughed as Joey, with his usual luck, found an empty parking space near the front of his building.

When they entered the apartment Mokuba didn't look around in awe as Joey had at his home. It wasn't due to any lack of interesting things to look at, but rather, from being there so many times. He liked Joey's place the best of all his friends' homes. He again took in the familiar eclectic furnishings of the studio apartment. The retro fridge, the homemade curtains, the overstuffed sofa picked up from the thrift store, and most amusing to him, the TV with ancient game systems and a brand new DVD player. His apartment was a studio, on the top floor of what had once been a factory, but years ago was renovated into an apartment building. The only luxury item that had been there when Joey moved in was a large circular window complete with window seat. None of his friends had thought it looked very promising as they helped him carry boxes up ten flights of stairs (especially since this redeeming window created a draft even when tightly shut and the window seat was falling apart), still Joey loved it, and as he sometimes did with people, he saw it not as it was, but how it would be. His apartment was formerly the office suite and had a private bathroom with a shower that seemed to have two temperatures: scalding hot or a freezing cold that made testicles run for cover.

Now the place was homey, warmly lit and interesting. Joey was excessively proud of what he'd done to the place, especially in regards to his "bedroom." The apartment had no dividing walls in it, excepting the bathroom, and Joey saw the place he slept as just as private as the place he showered, if not more so. While he couldn't build walls in the apartment, he, in his usual bending the rules style, found a way around it.

Their high school had been getting rid of all of their wooden set materials in favor of non-flammable unistrut. It was from there that Joey got a portable stage, a structure about a foot off the ground, usually used in the plays to symbolize a separate room. Joey did exactly that, finding that the stage was large enough for his bed and a night stand, leaving his dresser off the riser, to the side. He completed his privacy by surrounding it all with hand painted changing screens.

And while all of this was interesting, what Mokuba loved best was that the apartment always smelled like pumpkin.


	29. Belated VDay Special The Second

Author's Note: So, this is sad, but I'm going to flatter myself. I'm updating again! Yay! Yaaaay! Anyway, this doesn't take place on Valentine's Day, it's just an idea I couldn't really incorporate into the story (it just didn't seem to have a place in the time line), so I finally wrote it for this.

Disclaimer: Do not own!

Fair Play:

Belated Valentine's Special the Second

It was Saturday morning, the sun was well past risen, and as had been happening more and more often, Seto was still in bed with no intention to get up anytime soon, or go into Kaiba Corp at all today.

He would get up in an hour or so, have a late breakfast with Mokuba, then probably follow him to the DCPA.

But that was for later. Right now he was floating in that wonderful place between sleep and awake. He made a small content noise into the sheets and closed his eyes.

As he was, by his standards, indulging as is, he let his mind wander to the realm of bittersweet fantasy.

He imagines a weight next to him in bed, the warmth of a sleeping form. He reached a hand out, but pulled back suddenly, convincing himself that it was because he didn't want to wake his imaginary lover.

In his mind, the body next to him shifted and made a discontented noise at waking.

Keeping his eyes closed, he imagined opening them to see sleep tousled blonde hair and glazed brown eyes threatening to close again in sleep. They did, and left the other boy smiling at having seen his lover.

Seto would pull him close and kiss his forehead, taking in his scent. Had he not come to terms with it before, this intense pleasure at just the thought of holding the other man would have convinced him of his homosexuality.

At having been moved and touched, his lover would stir in his arms, waking to find a warm hand caressing his back.

He would raise his head and blink sleepily, before burying his head in the crook of Seto's neck with a contented sigh. "Love you, Set."

It was now that bliss became painful.

The other would never say his name liked that or be held so tight, naked in his arms.

Seto's throat tightened and now fully awake, he threw back the blankets, exposing himself to both reality and the cool air. Desperate to forget the dream, he made for the shower and shuddered as the hot water hit his hypersensitive skin.

He would see the other boy later, and while the eyes would not contain the hate they once did, they would also lack the lover they held in his dreams.

::End::


	30. The Chapter That Shall Not Be Named Pt2

Author's Note: ZOMG, another update? What can be the meaning of this? Has she lost her mind? The answer is yes. Yes I have.

Disclaimer: YuGiOh is still owned by Kazuki Takashi, but I am willing to make him an offer of all the shiny things I've picked up on campus and a knitted octopus.

Also: Please review! It stops me from taking candy from strangers!

Fair Play

Chapter 15.8: The Chapter That Shall Not Be Named Pt II (can you tell I've given up on the decimals making sense?)

Friday Night:

By the time Seto landed and was settled in his hotel, he assumed that it was too late to call and that it had better be done in the morning, Joey and Mokuba were probably asleep.

But Seto has never been to a sleepover. Joey and Mokuba we very much awake. They had set up Yugi's air mattress (which now lived at Joey's house, it being too much of a pain to be lugged back and forth) for Mokuba and in between spoonfuls of Haagen-Dazs were talking about boys (and girls) and battling to the death on Soul Caliber II (The greatest video game ever for button mashers).

"Stop. Tapping. Me." Mokuba said through gritted teeth, trying to get between Joey's attacks.

"Nevah!" Joey said, practically turning the control sideways, as though it would help him drive his opponent off the cliff. Mokuba struggled, but apparently Joey's controller tilting action was too powerful, and with a groan and a splash, Mokuba's fighter fell into the water. Joey cried out in triumph and dropped the controller, taking a victory spoonful of ice cream.

Mokuba play-sulked. "Yeah, well next time I'm Raphael." Joey replied with an extended tongue, which was quickly shot down by Mokuba's extended middle finger.

"You think your brother is going to call tonight."

"No, he probably thinks we're already asleep." The boy sighed. "He really needs to get a life."

Joey just nodded and picked up his controller again, preparing for battle.

Saturday:

Both Joey and Mokuba were surprised when Seto didn't call the next morning. By noon Mokuba tried Seto's cell and got no reply, turning surprise into worry. A half hour later Mokuba received a curt text from his elder brother. Only Seto Kaiba could send a text conveying a curt manner. It said that he was safe and would call later, and for Mokuba to do his homework. Joey couldn't help but smile at the idea of Seto sending texts under the table at a business meeting.

Mokuba, under orders, was reading a novel assigned for his English class, while Joey sat at the kitchen table, alternating between typing on his laptop and tapping his foot in a way that had Mokuba thinking he must be in his brother's office at Kaiba Corps.

Joey looked up and realized Mokuba was staring at him, with the half vacant look of someone who had been at it for a while. The blonde cocked an eyebrow, hoping this was enough to capture his friend's attention.

A smirk came to the teen's lips. "You and Seto are scary alike."

"We are not." Joey rolled his eyes, then turned his attention back to his laptop, blushing.

Mokuba thought back to a week or so before. 'Sure.'

Seto Kaiba's Office

"We are not Mokie." Seto replied, returning to his foot tapping and his work.

"You are. Right down to that god damned foot tapping."

"Language, Mokuba." He scolded, still not looking up, but taking care to keep his foot still.

"You really sh-"

But he was cut off by his older brother. "Do you need a ride to the DCPA? I can call Micha for you."

"Todd's running the center today." Seto was curious, but knowing his brother couldn't help but continue, he just went on typing. "Joey is meeting with the DCPA and DCGA leaders…and the others are doing couple-y things." There was a pause. "So it's good thing Joey's working."

Seto looked up, this time tempted to ask for clarification, but settled for a look of annoyance, knowing this would be enough to encourage Mokuba's elaboration.

"Joey gets lonely when all the others go off together."

Seto looked back at the sleek laptop's screen, and answered gruffly. "If he's that lonely, he should find someone."

Mokuba rolled his eyes. "He doesn't want _someone_."

"Then he shouldn't be lonely." Seto answered, his brow wrinkled.

"He doesn't just want a boyfriend. He wants what his friends have."

"Hn. Which is?"

"Love with a lover who's his best friend."

Seto snorted. "A tall order."

Mokuba toyed with a business card that sat on the corner of the desk. "He knows it. That's why he's waiting."

"He just plans on waiting for it to come to him?" He asked sarcastically.

"No. He dates." Seto's shoulders tightened at his brother's words. "He meets new people all the time. He's just waiting for the right one."

"He expects a lot."

Mokuba smiled. "He has a lot of proof that it can happen."

"Because his friends have SUCH perfect relationships."

"Joey isn't looking for perfection."

"What then?" Seto asked, not realizing that he was entirely neglecting his work at this point.

Mokuba shrugged. "Love?"

Saturday Night:

Another Saturday they would have been out with the others, but circumstances of work, homework and dates kept them apart, leaving Joey and Mokuba to fend for themselves for the night. Joey was cooking.

Well, actually he claimed to be cooking. To anyone not him, he was shaking his hips, dancing ridiculously around the kitchen portion of the apartment while Mokuba pretended to do his homework, but watched out of the corner of his eye.

Joey threw his head back and sang into the wooden spoon he held. "It's raining men! Hallelujah it's raining men!"

He was covered in flour, was wearing the world's most hideous apron and in all honesty, couldn't carry a tune to save his, or anyone else's life.

Despite appearing as though all he'd done was turn on a CD player and make a mess, the apartment smelled amazing. Joey was making stuffed shells, broccoli (to placate Seto) and because they both felt like it, apple pie.

Currently he was alternating between stirring/seasoning the sauce, rolling out the pie crust and caterwauling. Above all this, the phone rang and knowing it wouldn't be anyone Mokuba didn't know, Joey asked the clean handed boy to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Mokuba?" Seto's voice came through, sounding surprised and (Mokuba hoped) a little disappointed that it was not Joey who answered the phone (this possibility was Seto's only reason for not calling Mokuba's cell). But Seto recovered quickly. "Mokuba, what the hell his that horrid noise in the back ground?"

The younger boy was unsure if his brother was referring to the loud banging of Joey's desperate search for a pie tin, or the singing that carried over it. He decided on an answer that covered both. "Joey."

"Is he alright?" Seto sounded more amused than concerned.

"I think so, he's cooking dinner?"

"What are you having?" He was clearly concerned about the amount of vegetables his brother would be getting.

"Stuffed shells, garlic bread, broccoli and apple pie."

Not thinking it worth it to bring up the strange combination, he just replied. "Good." Joey chose this moment to switch to 'I Will Survive.' "That does not sound like cooking."

"You're really missing a great show, Seto. Sauce covered wooden spoon, flour covered Joey wearing an apron, singing badly and dancing while he cooks."

Seto cleared his throat and Mokuba laughed internally, picturing his brother loosening his tie uncomfortably. "I was just calling to tell you I arrived safely." He managed.

"I'd figured that out by now, but it's about time! We were getting worried!" Mokuba was outraged now that he remembered his brother's offense. "What have you been doing all day?"

"Trying to arrange a meeting with my 'business associates'."

"When do you meet with the pompous assholes."

For once Seto didn't scold him for his language. "Tomorrow morning at ten."

"What do you think they'll say?"

Seto sighed. "I really don't know, Mokie." Really not wanting to talk about the dreaded confrontation to take place tomorrow, he changed the subject. "Do you have a lot of homework for Monday?"

"A bit still. I was working on it when you called."

Something clattered to the floor in the kitchen, quickly followed by several other somethings. "With that racket?" Seto chuckled.

"Yeah."

"You should probably go finish up."

Mokuba groaned, but had by now reconciled himself with the fact that arguing about this with Seto was a waste of time. "Ok. Do you want to talk to Joey?"

Joey, who had been partly listening, found his heart beating faster and his eyes wide.

Seto sounded a little panicked when he managed a stuttered reply to Mokuba. "That's ok Mokie, I'm going to get some work done and go to sleep."

Mokuba ignored him, having had no intention to take no for an answer. He thrust the phone into Joey's flour covered hands. He turned off the CD player and started with a soft and hesitant, "Hey."

"Hi." Seto shook his head, glad that Joey couldn't see him. He was sure he had never used that word in the whole of his life. "Is Mokuba giving you any trouble?" He recovered.

"No more than normal. You know he's a good kid."

Seto nodded, then realized how Joey not seeing him was also a negative. "I know." There was an awkward pause. "Thank you again for watching him."

Joey laughed and Seto could tell that it wasn't mocking, just an honestly amused laugh. "You gave me a car, I'm pretty sure I should be thanking you. Besides, he spends enough time around me that it's like having joint custody." Joey did a face palm, realizing what he'd just said. Mokuba had looked up from his homework, shocked, then made an obvious point of putting his headphones on. Though he wasn't quite sure why, Joey was thankful for the slight privacy. It took Seto a while to respond and Joey began to fear he had offended his crush.

He was pleasantly surprised when Seto joked back. "Well…How about I get him for Christmas and you can have him for Chanukah?"

"That or we could stay together for the kid."

"I'm pretty sure that it's better for a kid to live in two happy households than one miserable one." Seto teased.

Joey put on a sulking voice. "You don't think we could work things out?"

"I don't know, between my job and your emotional issues I think it would just be the same problems all over again. We fight all the time. I'm just not sure if it's worth it to try."

Joey didn't point out that they hadn't fought in a long time now, but finished the game with. "Hmph. Well, at least I know you can afford to pay child support."

Seto could perfectly picture Joey's teasing and triumphant grin, and he couldn't help but wonder if this was something like what it could mean to have a partner. Some to laugh with. Someone to come home with, someone to love who he didn't have to remind to do his homework or eat his vegetables. Ok, maybe he'd have to remind him about the vegetables.

His thoughts resulted in a long silence that Joey broke, not by reviving the former subject, but by birthing a new one. "Are you meeting with your business partners tomorrow?"

"At ten."

"Do you think it will go well?"

"Not really, but all business meetings are like peace negotiations where you want nothing more than to bomb the hell out of each other."

Joey chucked.

"I'll handle it though. It's just a headache."

Realizing how much Seto had opened up to him, Joey wondered if this is what it would be like to have a relationship. Someone to trust you, tell you about their problems and listen to yours, someone to talk about your day with?

He flushed and cleared his throat. "And when that's done you'll be staying a few more days?"

"Yes. I had something I was going to take care of a few weeks from now, but I might as well take care of it while I'm here."

"Makes sense." Joey said, carefully lowering the pie crust into the tin. "I hope you'll be back for the day of silence, maybe you'll meet someone at the dance." Joey tested.

"Not really interested. But I will try to be back for it."

Joey didn't really know what to say and so settled for an awkward, "Good."

With that word the conversation was now clearly dead, cut off at the knees and then decapitated."

"I should go get some work done."

"Me too, I mean, I have to finish dinner."

"Good bye then."

"Bye."

"I'll call tomorrow." Seto blurted out, quickly hanging up the phone.

Joey hung up as well and went back to cooking. Joey couldn't exactly peg the feeling he had, knowing that Seto was so many miles away. It wasn't the painful throb of longing, or the anguish of missing a part of yourself. It was a tug. Disconcerting and uncomfortable. Something like restless leg syndrome of the soul.

::End Chapter::


	31. The Chapter That Shall Not Be Named Pt3

Author's Note: I seriously wrote the majority of this chapter months ago, I just had nothing to go in between….but now it sees the light of a computer screen!

Disclaimer: I own Tahnya and Gia's pizza…and I suppose the DCPA…and I guess the dialogue…but everything else is Kazuki Takashi's.

Fair Play

Chapter 15.85: The Chapter That Shall Not Be Named Pt. III

Saturday Night:

After hanging up with Joey, Seto sat down in a stylish but uncomfortable arm chair in his outrageously expensive hotel room in Osaka. He sighed and took up a pad Kaiba Corp letter head in one hand and a finely crafted pen with the hotel insignia in the other.

He had already titled the page:

Reasons A Relationship With Joey Could Never Work Out.

Yes, the title was needlessly long, but it served his purposes. Reasons one through twelve were filled in. The hand was neat, the spaces even, the pen held steady, yet Seto was fidgeting furiously on the inside.

The reasons started with his responsibilities to Mokuba and Kaiba Corp, took a detour to their differences in character and ended with his own failing as a social being. Yet no one reason, nor the sum of them all, quieted his churning mind. It was quickly dawning on him that his feelings went deeper than the simple attraction he had been claiming towards the blonde. The question was: How much deeper did they go?

Seto laid the paper and pen down on a table and closed his eyes.

_How do I feel about Joey? _

He pictured him dancing him just out of his reach at the drag show.

_I want him._

Now Joey was at the DCPA, speaking kindly to one of the coordinators who just fried a computer.

_I admire him._

Joey planning an event, directing people, assigning tasks.

_I respect him._

So clearly now he could almost feel it, Joey standing behind him, rubbing his neck and shoulders.

_I trust him._

_I'm interested in what he as to say, what he feels and thinks… I want to know more about him. _

_I want to make him happy._

Fuck. This may not be love, but it was starting to sound a hell of a lot like it.

Sunday Morning 10:15 AM:

Seto all but stormed into the board room. Trying to keep their cool in light of this, the other men stood, the bravest even spoke.

"You're late Mr. Kaiba."

"I'm not the one who scheduled our meeting for a Sunday. I suggest, should you find fault in me again, you make the journey to Domino and take it up with me when _my_ schedule will allow it, or, instead of issuing ultimatums, simply hire a hit man."

The same man spoke again, though much less sure of himself this time. "Are you quite finished?"

"For now. But I'm sure I'll be up for more later." Seto replied, sitting down while the rest still stood and placing his briefcase down at his side. He wore the same smile as he did in a duel…just before he played his blue eyes.

Another gained a voice, one that spoke as if to a child. "That was quite an outburst Mr. Kaiba."

"Were I even ten years older you wouldn't mistake ire for petulance."

The man sniffed. "Indeed."

Though he had just arrived, Seto looked down at his watch. If he had to be here right now, he was going to enjoy it as much as he could, not to mention make them regret it more than they thought possible. "Are we going to get to the matter at hand? Or am I expected to make small talk a while longer?" Seto waited, but none of the men seemed able to speak. "Mr. Arai? How is your mistress? Did you give her that present I sent for your wife after my last visit? And Mr. Tanaka, is your son back in rehab?"

Mr. Arai turned a dark purple-ish red but Mr. Tanaka managed to speak. "We are here about Mr. Sagawa!"

"You really should have come to Domino, you could have met with him as well."

"We wouldn't lower ourselves to his level." Mr. Arai had regained some of his color. "And you dishonor the Kaiba name by associating with him!"

Seto couldn't help it, he laughed, a harsh, cold sound. "What business of yours is it what I do to the Kaiba name? Everything I've done has made Kaiba Corp stock rise, taking yours up with it."

The other three men looked on as Mr. Arai and Tanaka argued with Seto. "We will be associated with him through you! Cancel the contract!"

Seto narrowed his eyes and let the other man's words hang in the air. Then he spoke in a voice that would have redefined Joey's image of 'pissed off Kaiba'. "You want me to end a mutually beneficial contract, one that would help all of our companies, because Hedeki Sagawa is gay?"

The other men said nothing.

"I had hoped you had more of a reason for dragging me away from my business than that." He let the cold silence hang again. "I will not be ending my contract with Sagawa Enterprises. If your objection is so great, I will release your companies from any standing contracts with Kaiba Corp so you can form new, heterosexual alliances. If not, I suggest you stop making idle threats to someone who doesn't need you, but your companies can't survive without. I may not have been playing this game as long as you have, gentlemen, but I have a steep learning curve. Do not underestimate me again." He stood now, taking his briefcase with him to the door. "Good day. Mr. Arai, please say hello to your wife and mistress. Mr. Tanaka, best wishes for your son's health." He gave a slight bow and left the room. 10:35. _I am good._

He dialed Mokuba's cell as he got into the car, removing his jacket and loosening his tie.

"Seto!"

"Hey Mokie." He said, a little exasperated at his brother's exuberance.

"Are you out of your meeting?"

Seto heard Joey in the back ground. "Already? How'd it go."

"What technique did you use? False alarm? The exorcist?" Seto laughed at the code names his brother had given his tried and true methods of throwing his business partners off their guards.

Mind you, they also kept business meetings from getting stale. "Fashionably late."

"Oh, good choice. What did you tell them?"

"Basically, to go fuck themselves."

Mokuba wasn't sure if he'd really heard his brother say 'fuck' before. He was silent until Joey poked him.

"What happened?"

"Seto told them to fuck themselves."

Joey raised an eyebrow, mildly turned on by the thought of Seto fuming in a business suit. "Oh. Go him."

After a few questions about Mokuba's homework and eating habits, their plans for the day and such, Seto made an excuse to leave, hoping to avoid another awkward conversation with Joey. Mokuba however, was not one to be easily defeated, and again gave Joey the phone without giving Seto time for protest.

Joey began cheerfully, walking towards the window seat as Mokuba put his headphones back in. "Hey. I hear I should be saying congratulations, you overcame the homophobic scum."

Seto chucked. "It was an epic battle indeed. Many lives were lost."

He took on an overly dramatic and accented voice. "Not from what I heard. The herald spoke only of your glorious triumph. As I recall the battle cry was 'go fuck yourselves'? Oh how that must have spurred your men on to victory!"

Seto nearly snorted. "I believe the herald paraphrases. I told them not to make threats and that I would quickly drop all of their contracts to do business with Sagawa."

"Impressive." He said, reclining. "Would you have really done it?"

"Immediately. I don't make empty threats. I don't need them, but they need me."

"Then why not terminate the contracts anyway?"

There was a long pause, and when he spoke Seto sounded as though he were divulging something personal. "At least two of the companies would fold without Kaiba Corp's contracts."

"But you don't need them, and after this…?"

"Thousands of people would lose their jobs."

Joey found himself lost for words. His opinion of Seto had changed so much in the past months, but this was something new and wholly unexpected. Rather than forming one opinion of Seto, he seemed to have divided him into two separate entities. Seto and Kaiba. Jekyll and Hyde. As though his first and last names were different people. Seto was the one he had been getting to know. He was so human compared to his robot counterpart. Kaiba. Joey still assumed that when it came to business Seto Kaiba was the same as ever, shrewd, calculating and ruthless. He never realized how much time Seto had been spending at the DCPA, how much that must be taking away from work. He didn't even know about Seto's new treatment of his employees. Now though, the two persona's began to overlap. Seto Kaiba was both man and machine. Clearly, at least personality-wise Seto Kaiba was a cyborg.

This thought process had obviously been going on for some time because Seto interrupted it. "Joey?"

"Wa? Yeah?"

"I th- You zoned out for a minute."

"Sorry. I was just thinking…that's a really…" He had trouble in his search for the proper word. Everything sounded either juvenile, condescending or pompous. He settled. "admirable thing to do."

Seto blushed deeply. "It's…" Joey heard the sound of a car door opening, and Seto practically leaped on it as an excuse to go. "I should go, I have a meeting in a little while. I have to…papers. I'll call soon."

"Good bye." But he wasn't sure Seto heard it, he was so quickly greeted by a dial tone. Rather than being frustrated, Joey just sighed with amusement and put the phone back on the receiver, before going back to his work. He was pretty sure it wasn't healthy, but he really liked that man.

::End Chapter::

P.S. Ok, now I can PROMISE two more chapters before the day of silence, which believe me, is going to be a big deal. The chapters are outlined, so I'm going to start really working on them tomorrow. One chapter to get us through the rest of the week, one to have Seto come home and pick up Mokuba. KTHXBAI


	32. The Chapter That Shall Not Be Named Pt4

Author's Note: So this is the ultimate sad. I am probably going to get the Day of Silence Chapter posted around the actual Day of Silence, TWO YEARS after I started this story. To all of you who have stuck through this with me, for all of your favorites and awesome reviews, I tip my many hats to you.

Disclaimer: I still don't own YuGiOh and the psychic said it's not looking any better for next week.

Fair Play

Chapter 15.9: The Chapter That Shall Not Be Named Pt 4

Sunday:

Sunday night was another night of introspection for Seto. It had been a long day, but he couldn't stop his mind from reeling as he lay in bed. Several hours into this vigorous exercise he came across a wonderfully horrible idea. He was thinking on the effect a gay relationship could have on Kaiba corp, and in just came to him. At first it didn't seem like a bad one, but as he rolled it around in his mind he became repulsed by ever having thought it.

A one night stand with Joey.

The thought behind it was simple. A taste. A way to get Joey out of his system, to work out this fever in his blood.

But Joey wasn't the type for a one night stand, and Seto wasn't sure if he would feel the same about him if he were.

In gaining this brief pleasure he would also lose something he had come to value: the tenuous almost friendship that had formed between the two. And Seto Kaiba hated trade offs.

He would not be able to go to the DCPA, which, as loathe as he was to admit, , he had come to enjoy.

Most importantly, it would not be fair to Joey. The blonde deserved better than to be used and tossed aside, to be toyed with until broken.

It would be unfair to others as well. Mokuba's relationship with Joey would be made awkward and strange.

Still, all this rational thought aside, Seto could not rid himself of the images of Joey writhing beneath him, or panting above him. Above all else, he knew somewhere deep inside that a one night stand would never satisfy what he felt for Joey.

Monday Morning:

Mokuba woke with a groan to a sound like the love child of a police siren and a jackhammer. He was more fully awoken by Joey's groan of reply to the alarm's piercing song and his more physical response. There was more groaning, the sound of flesh hitting plastic, then plastic hitting floor, then silence.

In Osaka Seto woke feeling as though he hadn't slept. Groaning, he hit his alarm several times, knocking it to the floor. After fighting with his body for several minutes, he dragged himself out of bed, towards the shower.

After the alarm had been vanquished it took Joey a while to convince himself that yes, he did indeed need to get up, he did need to shower and he did need to go to school. Hissing as his feet hit the cold floor (and valiantly fighting off the urge to retract back into bed) he dragged himself off to the bathroom, turning on the tea kettle as he went.

Clearing his voice enough to be understood, Seto dialed room service. Green Tea and an English muffin.

Mokuba heard the toaster pop and smelled something like warm bread. Joey was shuffling around the kitchen, having gotten out of the shower already, he was pouring water. "Hey Mokie? You'd better get up, we have to leave in a half hour."

Setting down the paper Seto stood, planning on going to wake Mokuba for school. It was a strange feeling as he sat back down.

Joey was used to cooking for people, he enjoyed it, but it was a rare thing that he made breakfast for someone else and in the time between this and the last he seemed to have attributed something to it, some intimacy, some ideal. Either way, it was weird seeing two plates and two mugs on the table this early.

Seto could not explain what he was feeling as he went about his morning routine. Normally when he was away he was constantly worried about Mokuba but now, that worry taken care of, what was this gnawing in his stomach?

Joey wasn't sure he ever wanted to live with anyone, because if they saw the way he was in the morning, they wouldn't be sure they wanted to live with him. Mokuba's cheerful good morning was greeted with a grunt.

The room service man seemed flattered to be insulted by Seto Kaiba. Another fan boy perhaps? Really it wasn't a direct insult, no, the boy had been too beneath his notice to warrant that, it had been more of a general distaste for both mornings and humanity that spawned his rudeness.

"You and Seto should never talk to each other until after noon." Mokuba proclaimed.

Joey nursed his hot tea. "And why is that?"

"Neither of you are morning people. You don't have first hour together, do you?"

Joey shook his head.

"I'm sure your teacher is grateful."

"I know I am." Came out as a reflex from all of their fighting. "Sorry."

Mokuba just smiled. "No problem. I said you weren't morning people."

Joey gave his first smile of the morning. "I can't even picture what he'd look like just out of bed."

Mokuba just took another bite of English muffin. "I'm sure you'll see it someday."

Joey sputtered, blushed deeply and left to get dressed, threatening to tell Seto that Bakura was a bad influence on his little brother.

Seto gathered his things together for the day, snapping his briefcase closed and wondering vaguely if Mokuba would eat breakfast. Then, more solidly, would Joey miss him this week?

In class that afternoon (the only one he had with Seto) Joey found himself disappointed by the emptiness sitting where Seto should be. In their short time as almost-friends Joey had really become attached to him, not to mention being more deeply and more sincerely attracted to him that ever before. Seto had been one of the non-introspective things that had convinced him of his homosexuality, their fighting, the way could get a rise out of him regardless of his mood or whether he'd vowed to never look at the brunet again. The stolen touches during their physical confrontations, between the punches, panting, the hands fisted in clothes, pushed against chest, breath mingling in the second oldest dance.

Monday Evening:

Joey looked up for the third time to find Mokuba staring straight through him, spaced out in his direction. For the first time though, this movement snapped the boy out of it, and seemingly before he'd realized it, he spoke.

"How are you going to know you've found the right guy?"

Joey raised an eyebrow, wondering if this was just a random thought or if it tended towards his intentions for the boy's brother. "I'm not entirely sure. Yami and Yug knew from being apart. I don't think Ryou knew either until Bakura was gone an he found himself in the middle of fighting to get him back."

"And Tristan and Duke?"

"I don't know how the fuck that happened." He shrugged.

"But how will you know?"

"I really don't know. I'm not expecting anything magical, literally or figuratively…I guess…I sometimes wonder if I'm cold. I've dated…I've kissed a few guys and it's been…pleasant, but it's never seemed even close to what other people seem to have. I've never been attached." He sighed, turning his laptop away and resting his head on his hand. "There wasn't any intensity…desperation. It's never really hurt to be rejected. I guess I'll know when I find someone that I'm scared to lose and will work to keep. When I finally feel something…strong."

Mokuba couldn't help but think of how accurately that described Joey's feelings for his brother, even before he admitted to liking him. He always wondered why, when they really had no reason to even speak, they seemed to seek each other out.

It wasn't long after this that Seto called, and exhausted, spoke only to Mokuba, and only then briefly (though still needing assurances that vegetables were being had).

Tuesday Afternoon:

Another tedious meeting, requesting building permits and pointing out that there were literally no negatives in a Kaiba Corp factory being built in the area. Solar power, no emissions, jobs, blah blah blah. It wasn't that Seto didn't care, he wouldn't have bothered to reduce the footprint his company would leave in the world, but he couldn't help but hate these meetings, the bureaucracy, the paper work. More than anything he wanted to be at the DCPA, quietly listening to life going on around him, maybe watching Joey work, or dance to a song on the radio.

The only conceivable perk to the CEO being away was that the group could talk about the absent one without restraint, whenever they wanted, for as long as they wanted.

Joey however, did not see this as a perk. Rather, the constant speculation as to his romantic future had long since gotten old and he was now resorting to replying in a monosyllabic monotone.

"You do realize that he's still kind of an ass, right?" Tristan inquired.

"Hey!" Mokuba snapped.

Joey would have joined him in Seto's defense, but frustration and exhaustion had him hardly paying attention.

Tahnya joined Mokuba in the good fight. "I think he's nice."

"You haven't known him long." Tristan rebutted, sighing deeply. "We have a history with him." He smiled sarcastically. "Joey especially."

Tahnya raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow in silent inquisition.

Bakura smirked and it was all Joey could do to not picture him as a cat with feathers between his teeth. "He hasn't told you? They go waaaaaay back."

She leaned forward. "Do tell."

They all looked at each other, realizing none of them could remember where the rivalry even began. Finally they turned to Joey, who had gone beet red.

"I REALLY don't want to talk about this."

Bakura just smiled that evil smile (which was echoed (though slightly muted) on the faces of all the others). "Do you really think you have a choice?"

At that Joey sighed, resigning himself to his fate and wondering how to start.

To be continued…

Ok, so…I have to get one more chapter written before the 25th so I can post the DOS chapter, which is already finished! Yay me!

As usual, read and review. By the way, this little flashback-ish thing that's going to be starting, was definitely not planned.


	33. The Chapter That Shall Not Be Named Pt5

Author's Note: Please, don't ask what happened. Suffice to say, I suck at life.

And I realize this chapter is lacking in many things, but I'm hoping that just getting this out of the way and starting afresh will help.

Will the reviewer "Teddy" please leave an e-mail at which s/he can be reached? If you are on and haven't posted any stories, you wont show up in the search, so I can't find you and I would like to reply to your comments.

Disclaimer: Don't own anything but the plot, the quotes and Tahnya.

Also…fuck flashbacks.

Chapter 15.95: The Chapter That Shall Not Be Named Pt 5

"Do I really have to do this?" Joey whined rather pathetically.

Ryou nodded and Bakura said. "Again, do you think you have any sort of choice in the matter?"

"Not if I want to keep my sanity." He replied, shaking his head.

"We are quite good at pestering." Yugi mused.

Joey sighed in resignation. "Fine, but you can't blame a guy for trying."

"I can." Tahnya sulked, miffed that Joey hadn't told her the story before and didn't want to tell it now.

"Don't get you panties in a twist Tahn. It's not like I'm going to get out of this."

Bakura rolled his eyes and growled. "So stop bitching and tell the damn story."

Yugi adopted the evil smirk that he had so recently acquired. "Yeah, and don't worry Joey, we'll fill in any spaces you leave out."

The blonde snorted. "Hn. No doubt with your own unique spin on things."

"Us? Never." Yami sprung to Yugi's rescue after these words, holding his hands in a circle over his lover's head in a mock halo.

"I'm sure. So, angelic one, where do you think it all began?"

"Just before duelist kingdom." he said with confidence.

Joey made an X with his arms. "Wrong. Way before that. First day of gym, freshman year. Our lockers were right across from each other's. Don't smirk like that Tahnya, I didn't even like him then. I couldn't. Well, you guys know, with the benches right there the space to change in is pretty narrow, so I figured it was only polite to introduce myself to the person I'd be getting naked with." Mokuba made a disgusted face.

"You're such a gentleman." Tahnya teased.

He stuck his tongue out in an un-gentlemanlike manner. "I try. But the bastard-"

"HEY!"

"Sorry Mokuba. Anyway, he ignores me, keeps facing the lockers, changes and leaves and I'm standing there, all embarrassed and awkward."

"And turned on." Tristan added. "So, see anything you liked?"

Mokuba shrieked and covered his ears.

"Didn't get a chance to. After that he either changed in the bathroom or cut class altogether. But those tiny gym shorts are pretty awesome."

Mokuba raised the volume of his wordless protest.

"Sorry Mokie." Joey repeated, exasperated. "So apparently Seto Kaiba was too dignified to change with us commoners. I didn't find out until later that he was Seto Kaiba, the great "sun shines out my ass"-Seto Kaiba who owned half of Domino and could easily obtain the rest."

Mokuba didn't bother to object to the profanity or correct the exaggeration.

"Anyway, after that I left him alone for a while…but then Yugi kept tying to befriend him, persistent little bugger he is-"

"I'm not little!"

Everyone snorted, knowing he was in one way and wondering if he was in another.

"Anyway, after a while I started to kind of like him, even when I hated him. He was just…he wasn't cocky, he was proud."

Ryou rolled his eyes. "Like Mr. Darcy?"

Joey blushed so deeply it was lucky he didn't catch fire. "A little, but I hadn't read the book at that point. So anyway, I let Yugi drag me into his mission, but it was mostly to know more about him. At some point the rejection turned into insults, then into fighting and I think we forgot was it was all about. Yugi, slave to his baser nature, just kept trying to be nice, to get us to get along, even after all Seto'd done, he still had hope." His face had gone somber by now. "I guess I did too. It was years of him doing hate worthy things and us forgiving him every time. But I didn't act like it. I just fought him. I couldn't stand to be ignored by him, and it took a while before I realized it was because I liked him, because every time I could get him to look at me was another time he might see me differently. And then a few months ago I was at the health fair at school for the DCPA and I couldn't fight with him, I was at work, and I think he finally saw me differently." Before this he'd sounded a little close to tears, but now he chuckled. "I think it scared him."

"It did. He doesn't really do change well." Mokuba helped.

Joey just nodded and finished. "And I guess that's where we are now."

Tahnya gave him the look of one noticing a major plot hole. "But how, before the health fair, did you ever end up liking him? Tristan's right, it sounds like he was a total ass."

Joey shrugged. "It just sort of happened. I realized he must have reasons for being like he is, just like I do for being like I am."

"Yeah, but he's an ass." Tristan added.

Mokuba growled again, but Joey stood up for Seto before the younger Kaiba could speak. "He's not, he's just never had a chance or reason to act any other way. He and I…it's like we're coming from the same place and just took different turns somewhere."

Tristan rolled his eyes but a nasty look from Joey stopped him from saying anything. Mokuba was giving Joey a proud smile and the others were feeling awkward at having been privy to something Joey had kept to himself so long.

Tahnya broke the silence. "So why haven't you made friends with him yet?"

Joey just rolled his eyes. "It's not like I try to fight with him." Everyone gave him that 'sure' look. "Ok, maybe I start it sometimes, but it's not my fault, we've always just rubbed each other the wrong way."

Bakura snorted and raised his bottled water. "Well, here's hoping that you'll start rubbing each other the right way."

Ryou hit his bottle against Bakura's, grinning wickedly. "That you'll still be at each other's throats."

Duke joined in. "That the passion will never fade."

"That you can finally get that stick out of his ass!" Tristan ducked the wad of paper Joey sent his way.

"And get something else up there instead!" Bakura howled, laughing a laugh that spoke of a deep and ancient mischief.

Joey got up, knowing that nothing else would stop this ridiculous toasting. "Leaving." On his way out he glanced at a cringing Mokuba. "Mokie, how do you expect to get a boyfriend if you keep making faces like that?"

becausethestupidlinesfromthelastchapterdidn'tshowup

Wednesday:

By Wednesday afternoon Joey had banned all talk of his absent crush and what would happen when Seto returned. Such prohibitory acts however, are often met with strong opposition, meaning that Joey had taken to hiding in his office while everyone else speculated on his love life. His authority was truly a force to be reckoned with.

After a particularly explicit inquiry from Bakura he shouted, "Will you just shut up about Seto Kaiba?!" He now regretted having not repaired the door Bakura had broken.

There was a silence broken by Tristan with a grin, "Hey guys, what's the first rule of pride alliance?"

There was a long silence before Tahnya, closet movie buff, got his very round about reference. "Don't talk about Seto Kaiba?"

"Right!" Tristan slammed a fist on the table. "Second rule of pride alliance?"

"Don't talk about Seto Kaiba?" Yugi chimed in, amused at the stupid joke and at the low growl he'd heard from the office when it started.

"Not funny!" Joey called out.

"Is too!"

"So is homicide!" Threatening his best friend's life.

"Would that be homo-cide?" Yugi teased, managing to dissolve the tension with wide purple eyes and giggles.

Wednesday Evening:

In his hotel room Seto picked up his phone, dialed a number, and after the first ring, hung up in a panic. He didn't answer. Good. Relaxing from his close call, he settled back into his chair. The phone rang, the screen glowing the numbers he had just dialed. Fuck. Caller ID. Seto Kaiba, boy genius, had forgotten about caller ID.

He picked up. "Hello?"

A cheery voice answered him. "Seto Kaiba?"

"Mr. Sagawa."

"Please, call me Hedeki. I was going to call you this evening, but you seem to have gotten to it first. Was the call disconnected?"

"Yes, I lost reception after the first ring." He lied quickly.

"Indeed. Well, Osaka does tend to have shoddy reception." He said, speaking of both people and phones.

Seto frowned. "How did you know I went to Osaka?"

"I received a conference call requesting that I terminate our contract. I called your office and they said you had left for Osaka a few days before."

"I'm sorry, I didn't think they'd contact you, I didn't want to trouble you with this."

"Seto, I hardly have the luxury of being that soft skinned. I am offended that people take my personal life so into account, but it's something I am more than used to."

"It shouldn't be that way." Seto replied honestly.

"No, but I can rest much easier knowing that I have a champion in the great Seto Kaiba."

"They told you I-"

"No, but as I assume you do, I have my sources." Seto was quiet, and Hedeki continued. "Is this what you were calling me about?"

Seto planned on lying but his voiced betrayed him. "No."

Mr. Sagawa sensed that Seto had neither the intention or ability to say anything else. "I must say, you have me questioning my skill as a judge of character."

"How so?" He finally managed.

"I had figured you for the sort of man who goes after what he wants." He sounded deadly serious, but before Seto had a chance to say anything else there was a noise in the background and Sagawa's tone changed. "Oh, my Taki is home. I'd better be going, it's not fair to leave the man you love waiting."

Seto found himself smiling. "Has anyone ever told you that you're not very subtle?"

"Like a brick, I know. I find subtlety overrated. Most people are too dense for it. I suspect even you Seto, at least in this…field. Besides, it's a brave new world, children don't work in factories, women can wear pants and men can love men, subtlety is outdated."

"And we are men of action." Seto added.

"Indeed!" (AN: Sagawa's favorite word). "Perhaps my judgment isn't so flawed after all. Good Night Seto."

Seto put the phone down with a feeling of warm confusion.

becausethelinesfromthelastchapterdidn'tshowup

Thurday Morning:

Thursday greeted the world like a hung over strobe light inspector, railing against the windows in a solid mass of wind and water.

The fact that Seto was returning that evening did little to brighten the stormy sky, muffle the growling thunder or even make the sound of the alarm more palatable to the ears.

Joey gave his customary groan before defeating his alarm clock in their daily battle.

In the living room Mokuba woke slightly at the noise, but just rolled to his other side and yanked the comforter over his head, knowing by the sounds of the storm that even if it hadn't brought with it a bitter cold, it was going to be a miserable day.

Joey finally scrambled out of bed and made, what was to Mokuba, an indecent amount of noise.

This morning started even more slowly than the others and the teens left much later than was recommended in so much rain. Mokuba was lucky enough to arrive on time, but Joey had missed a decent chunk of first hour by the time he'd gotten to the school and found an unfortunately distant parking spot.

thisisherebecausethefuckinglinesdidn'tshowuplasttime

Seto checked around the room for the third time, feeling as though he was leaving something behind, but not to be melodramatic, the only thing he could think of was the inhibitions he'd lost in this room.

Thursday Evening:

Both Mokuba and Joey had mixed feelings when they heard the sharp knock at the door at seven. Joey was anxious about seeing Seto, sad to see Mokuba go and a little glad to have his home to himself again. Mokuba was happy to be seeing his brother again, but worried about leaving Joey alone. Neither needed worry though, for Joey his first and last thoughts predominated, which could leave Mokuba guiltless for feeling more strongly about his first.

Joey was folding up the bedding Mokuba had used for his stay and so the younger boy ran for the door. "Look through the peep hole first!" Joey called after him.

Mokuba obeyed and resorting to his childhood habit, exclaimed. "Big brother!" while throwing the door open wide. Seto had a soft smile on his face and returned his brother's hug with, if not equal enthusiasm, equal emotion. Joey couldn't help the warm feeling that filled him at the sight, nor the chill that followed it. The Kaiba brothers were rarely apart, he and his sister, rarely together and for the first time in a while, it hit him head on. It receded slowly as he put the rest of the blankets away and by the time he'd finished and started to walk towards the siblings Seto was sending Mokuba off to collect his things.

As soon as Mokuba released him and ran off, Seto stepped into the apartment and leaned against the now closed door. He smiled a little at Joey's flushed appearance.

"So, did the puppy miss his master?"

Remembering part of what Bakura had said, Joey didn't growl or snap out a response. "A better question is did the master miss his pup?"

This left Seto with two options, one, the 'I asked you first' route or two, silence. As it was the easier for him, he chose the later and cast his eyes around the apartment. What he saw slightly astonished him. He'd always expected Joey to be a rather disorganized and messy person, but aside from the building's age and a pile of papers scattered on the table, the apartment was immaculate. Immaculate and interesting. Joey saw his eyes land on the circular window with the rain streaming down.

"You should go check out the view. You can even see Kaiba Corp from here."

Kaiba made his way to the window but stopped a few feet short to examine the bookshelf against the wall next to it. Contrary to what he expected to find, it was filled with literary classics and some new novels, rather than purely GLBT relevant texts. Sensing the direction of his thoughts, Joey smirked.

"I do read other things you know, like I tell Mokuba, being queer is only part of your identity, not the whole thing." Seto stayed silent so Joey went on. "A lot of people when they first come out can't stop talking about it, they wear it like a banner and some never let go of it and end up living a cliché rather than a life. For most of us it's not even the most important role in our lives."

Seto knew what he meant, it was still hard admitting he was gay, not because he was ashamed, but because he thought it changed who he was.

Joey made his way from Seto's side to the window seat's plush cushions and pillows, looking out through the rain. Seto joined him but stayed standing.

"I guess you can't see it tonight because of the rain, but your building is right over there." He pointed out a triangular window pane. As Joey gazed out, his ever so slightly labored breathing fogged the glass. Seto watched the fog recede and return with Joey's breath and closed his eyes at the memory of how that felt, as Joey rubbed his shoulders, upon his neck.

"I-" He said, choking on the simple word and not continuing.

Joey cocked an eyebrow. "You?"

"Never mind." Seto said a little too quickly to convey composure.

After another pause interrupted only by the rain and Mokuba's traditional frantic packing, Joey felt the need to fill the air between them with words but none came to his lips so they sat in a disappointing silence until Mokuba announced that he was ready, hugged Joey, bid him adieu and ran ridiculously fast into the hallway. Joey's cheeks burned bright red at Mokuba's transparent attempt to leave them alone. Seto tried to look unfazed but he felt a blush rising and his ears burning with heat.

Seto tried again, "I-," and again he failed. "I should…"

Joey looked nothing but puzzled. "Should what?"

Seto made a strange cracking click in the back of his throat, choking on his words. "Should…go. Mokuba's waiting."

Joey looked disappointed. "Oh."

"Thank you again for letting him stay here."

Joey tried to hide the slight bitterness in his voice. "No problem."

Seto held out his hand and Joey casually knocked it to the side, pulling the taller boy into a hug. It was brief and unnerving, leaving both of less sound mind than they had previously been.

Not knowing what to do or say, Seto turned for the door. "Goodnight."

Joey crossed his arms in front of himself, rubbing one shoulder uncomfortably. "Night."

Then in a whoosh of coat tails and click of the door, Seto was gone and Joey collapsed back onto his window seat, some parts dejected and relieved. He couldn't tell, however, which one prevailed.

:End Chapter:

Author's Note: Yeah, it ends awkwardly…maybe I'll revise it someday. Anyway, there's a little thing that I might post between this and the DOS chapter, but only because it was supposed to be the end of this one and it's already mostly typed, whereas the DOS is mostly on paper.

Well, I hope it wasn't an entirely miserable experience. Night.


	34. Bonus Chapter: The Doctor Is In

Author's Note: This was really supposed to be part of the last chapter, but as it was already the fifth part and really long on it's own…so I decided to make this a bonus chapter. Anyway, I'm going away for a week and will try to post the DOS chap as soon as I get back.

Fair Play

Bonus Chapter: The Doctor is In

Alone for the first time in days Joey breathed a sigh of regretful relief. It had been nice having someone around to talk to, to share his day with, but as much as he loved Mokuba, he was not looking for a ward or brother for company. He wanted a lover to hold on stormy nights like this, when his thoughts would otherwise plague him.

He knew he had a good life, wonderful friends and an amazing and rewarding job, but he felt it every night, when the others left together and he left alone.

--

Later that night Mokuba was sitting in his room trying to put off his shower. He really should just ask Joey if it was a candle or spray that that made the apartment always smell of pumpkin. For now though he had to settle for the lingering scent in his clothes and hair.

Having finally run out of ways to procrastinate, it was a lucky turn of events that Seto knocked on the frame of his slightly open door.

"Why aren't you asleep?"

Mokuba looked confusedly as his brother. "Because it's only nine."

"Oh."

Seto's whole body was wearing a strange emotion, one Mokuba had never seen on him before. He tried to figure it out but in the end had to picture it on someone else to see it for what it was.

Seto was twitchy. Startled at this realization, Mokuba began cautiously. "What's wrong?"

"I just…" He shrugged helplessly.

Mokuba smiled comfortingly. "Step into my office."

Seto rolled his eyes and fell into the mushroom chair with an exasperated sigh.

"So, what is it?"

"I-" It was hard for him. Words had never come easy to him in the realm of emotion and the intensity of this feeling made it them even more difficult to expell. "How do you-?" He searched for an alternative to the vernacular but nothing came to him.

Mokuba's eyes widened and he looked appauled. "Are you asking me how to have sex with a man?"

A twin of Mokuba's expression made it's home on Seto's face. "No! No, Mokie."

His brother relaxed a little. "Oh…What then?"

"I want to know how to…approach another man."

"Seto, you're asking me for love advice, aren't you."

"No." He replied, firmly but unconvincingly.

"You are, aren't you?"

"No!" He repeated with more in the way of volume but even less in conviction, and stood hoping it would add weight to his exclamation.

"I really think you are. You want to know how to ask Joey out."

There was an epic pause. Finally Seto relented. "Well?"

"Fuck if I know. You don't let me date."

"Little bastard." He threw his arms into the air as if surrendering to the dilemma.

Mokuba just rolled his eyes. "You could always try, 'Would you like to go out sometime?' I think that's as easy as it gets."

"Easy, sure. Night Mokuba." Seto said distractedly. He couldn't do it. He had found his limit for risk taking. He had taken gambles with his money and his life, but now that it had come to it, it seemed his heart was a different matter (regardless of how little he believed he had one).

"Hey!" Mokuba called to his brother's retreating back.

"What?"

"He'll say yes."

Or maybe it was worth a shot after all.

--

Joey went to bed early in anticipation of the next day. It would be stressful, attempting organization without any means of communication (but it was a challenge he loved and this would be his fourth year overcoming it). Still, his plans of sleep were thwarted at every turn beneath his sheets. It was part excitement for tomorrow and part worry at the ominous feeling building in the pit of his stomach.

Perhaps ominous was the wrong word, but rather a sense of impending something. It was not inherently negative, it just said that something was going to happen.

He rationalized though that his gut feelings were almost never right and he struggled his way to sleep at last.

:End Chapter:

Author's Note: DOS chap next, I swear, there is nothing else I could possibly write in between.


	35. The Sound and Fury

Author's Note: OMFGWTFBBQ! Finally!!

Disclaimer: Don't own YuGiOh. I also don't own the text of the DoS card.

Fair Play

Chapter 16: The Sound and Fury Part I

Seto woke the morning of the twenty-third with the same intense sense of purpose he had felt his first day of running Kaiba Corp (though, only under threat of harm to Mokuba would he admit, the day ahead of him had him twice as nervous).

'I will do this.' He swore (what can I say? Kaiba had a flair for the dramatic).

Luckily it was a school day, saving him the stress of fretting over what to wear. Well, maybe not eliminating the stress, but certainly limiting it. After all, what shirt to wear? ...And he did need to pack an outfit for the Day of Silence rally. Fuck.

Mokuba knocked gently on the door, and receiving no negative reply opened it to find his brother still in his pajamas, surrounded by discarded clothes. "Everything ok in here?"

It was now that Seto realized he must have sworn aloud. "Fuck." He repeated.

"So…no then?" Seto tried to narrow his eyes and raise a brow at the same time, resulting in a ridiculous face.

"Don't make that face at Joey today, you'll scare him off."

Seto settled for just glaring now. "This is not funny Mokuba."

"No, you're right. It's hilarious. Now go shower, your hair looks ridiculous. I'll find something for you to wear to the rally."

Seto gave him an exasperated and doubtful look, but when he had a problem he couldn't solve, as loathe as he was to do it, he did defer to experts and in this situation, Mokuba's knowledge far surpassed his own.

Seto finally came down to the breakfast table twenty minutes later than normal, he would not have time to read the paper (not that he'd be able to concentrate on it, but he disliked disruptions in his routine).

"Be nice to him."

"I know this is a first for me Mokuba, but I had managed to figure that out on my own." He took a sip of his coffee and proceeded to anxiously pick the seeds off his bagel.

"That doesn't mean you'll do it. By the way, how exactly to do plan to do this?"

"I was going hit him over the head and drag him off to my cave." He said, sounding entirely serious.

"So the direct approach then?"

"Yes, though I suppose a diplomatic approach would be more effective."

"You think so?" Mokuba smirked, trying to keep up the level of sobriety the conversation had taken on. "The Paleolithic method is a little outdated, but why mess with a classic?" Seto was beginning to smile. "Mind you, where am I going to get a club this early in the morning?"

"Dunno, sporting goods stores wont open until after school starts."

"Pity. I guess I will just have to talk to him then."

Mokuba snorted. "Pity."

They finished breakfast in amiable silence then got into the limo, Mokuba chattering about the day ahead, the rally that evening and anything he could think of. The babble was for two reasons, one, to get as much talking in as possible before the silence started at eight and two, to keep his brother from worrying, fretting, dwelling, brooding, moping or any other similar adjective that could be used to describe the unique state Seto entered when he had something important to think about. It was a sort of negative meditation, the anti-zen. You could practically feel the air around him charge with electricity. Yami would have explained it as residual magic from his past life as high priest (Seto would have said something nasty about Yami's mental state). But whatever it was, it freaked the younger Kaiba the fuck out.

It was barely kept at bay until they reached his school and Mokuba knew it would take over the minute he left. "Good luck Seto, and remember, you could always borrow a baseball bat from the gym if you have to club him."

Seto gave a minute smile. "I'll keep that in mind."

Mokuba was mistaken however, in the short drive between the two schools Seto managed to keep his brooding to a minimum, leaving an empty space for a tingling hopeful anxiety to grow.

'Today…' he mused.

Far too soon for his stomach though, the limo came to a halt before his school.

Taking the first right as he entered school, Seto immediately saw a shock of blonde hair in the crowd. This was it. They would talk, it would go well and he would pick Joey up tomorrow night at eight. Perfect. Yeah right.

Three quarters of his way to math class Joey thought he heard his name, but, in the crowded hallway that seemed to be compensating for the few students not speaking today, he couldn't tell where it came from.

In the throng of people Joey didn't seem to hear him, so he sped up and tried again. This time Joey turned and their eyes met over the crowd, everything else blocked out by the people between them.

Joey pulled away from the crowd and leaned against the wall, watching Seto make his way to him. When he was finally in Seto's full view and saw the raise of his eyebrows, brown eyes smiled as lips could not. Seto was now at a loss for words not because of what he wanted to say but because of the shine of silver duct tape across Joey's lips.

Joey felt like an idiot. Of course Seto wouldn't be part of the DOS. As certain as Joey now was of the other boy's sexuality, he was even more certain of his desire to hide it. There was too much at stake right now, and so Joey should have been unsurprised when Seto began to speak.

He started, "What th-" but was interrupted by Joey holding up a card.

It read as follows:

_Please understand my reasons for not speaking today. I am participating in the Day of Silence, a national youth movement protesting the silence faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender people and their allies. My deliberate silence echoes that silence, which is caused by harassment, prejudice and discrimination. I believe that ending the silence is the first step toward fighting these injustices. Think about the voices you are not hearing today?_

_What are you doing to end the silence?_

_**Day of Silence Project**_

He handed the card back and asked. "So you're not speaking all day?"

Joey nodded, which was as far as he would push the rules.

"Are you sure you can do that?"

Joey furrowed his eyebrows and scowled under the silver tape.

Seto chuckled in the deep rumble that always sent shivers up Joey's spine. "I need to talk to you, when does this end?"

Joey held up four fingers.

Externally Seto maintained his look of calm resignation but inside he was frantic. Every part of him said that he couldn't wait that long.

"Could you talk for a few minutes? I have something to tell you." He thought about saying please, but was not yet that desperate.

Joey looked at Seto, saying with his eyes what he couldn't aloud. That he was curious and sorry, but he couldn't break the silence.

"I wouldn't ask you to do this if it weren't important."

Joey's eyes widened. He held up two fists, extended nine fingers, closed his hands (dropping one), held up one finger, clenched his fist again and finally extended one again. He raised an eyebrow to make it a question.

9-1-1. Seto cocked his head to the most minimal degree, not immediately understanding (one can hardly blame him, it was rather early, he'd had little sleep and things were going far from anything he'd thought of). "Oh. No it's not that kind of important, not an emergency."

Joey held up four fingers and shrugged apologetically. It said plainly, you'll have to wait.

Though Seto was not in the conventional sense, spoiled, he was used to getting his own way. "I don't want to wait until four." He said almost petulantly.

Joey looked sincere in his regret but stood firm. He did desperately want to know what had Seto so agitated but couldn't bring himself to budge.

"Joey, I know this means a lot to you, but I really wouldn't ask this if it weren't important."

Again the boy's eyes said, 'Sorry,' but his hand still said four.

Seto growled in frustration before stomping away towards his locker.

Joey simply watched him go, absolutely befuddled, and let his hands fall to his sides helplessly.

Seto thought that he might be coming to understand the ridiculous actions of others in the name of this crazy thing called love (Tom Cruise on Oprah). For love he must now admit it to be (or something so close to it that it was indistinguishable). He was a man possessed, somewhere deep inside knowing what he was doing, how he was acting and the shame it should make him feel but overall, not caring. It was some part this, the general nature of a man in love, and some small part his own competitiveness, and lust for a challenge. So it began, an epic chase between hunter and hunted.

Between every class Seto sought Joey out and attempted to persuade him to break his silence for a few minutes to hear him out and reply.

Though Seto supposed he could make his confession to a mute audience it felt more like it would be falling on deaf ears.

For a full fifteen minutes at lunch he tried to reason with him, in all actuality digging his own grave as he argued that the breach of his promise would make little difference, he was after all, only one man.

He tried everything, logic failed him, guilt was unsuccessful and compromise was futile. He offered to use pen an paper, hoping to present this as a loophole, but Joey continued not speaking and only held up four fingers and handed him that infuriating card in reply.

Finally he found himself at the end of the day, emotionally exhausted from being foiled at every turn and on the verge of sulking when Joey approached him.

He couldn't help the physical reaction that followed. He face flushed and his stomach spun. Joey was going to talk to him, and the final bell had just rung, so it could only be 2:15.

His hopes soon sunk though, as he saw Joey still had the duct tape on, and simply handed him a flyer for the rally, which Seto had already promised to attend.

Only one thing could be read into it, that Joey was afraid that Seto might have changed his mind.

"I'll be there." He assured him. "And then we'll talk?"

Joey nodded and smiled beneath his silver gag. He embraced Seto in a quick hug before running off with a cheerful wave.

Seto breathed deeply when Joey had gone, asking a deity yet unknown to him for the patience to wait until four.

:End Chapter:

PLEASE REVIEW!


	36. The Sound and Fury Pt 2

Author's Note: The final part of the DoS chap. I'm not actually sure how many chapters there will be after this…maybe as little as two, definitely less than five. I hope. We all know how bad I am with goals and deadlines. Anyway…please, after halfway through the next chapter I am again flying by the seat of my pants. Ideas are very welcome.

Also, it's my birthday and instead of staying home and sleeping, then going to dinner with my boyfriend I'm going to the hospital to have a test done so I can get a job, going to my boyfriend's family reunion, eating dinner at my grandpa's house and being bailed on by said boyfriend for a party his friend is having. Oh mother fucking joy.

Disclaimer: Don't own YuGiOh.

I really hope this is good.

Fair Play

Chapter 16.5: The Sound and Fury Part II

Joey was in his office, the newly replaced door open, meditating on Seto's peculiar behavior today and trying to kill the last bit of time before breaking the silence .

Outside the office there was the murmur of too many bodies existing in too small a space. It was an uncomfortable and tense silence with all eyes on the clock.

For Joey there was a severe discontent involved but it would not be relieved by screaming his lungs out when it hit four. He wasn't even sure it would be settled tonight. Though Seto had said he'd be there, as upset as he was earlier, Joey wouldn't be able to blame him for not coming.

You can understand then, the surprise he must have felt, having just finished that thought, at turning towards the door and finding Seto there, clicking it shut behind him.

The duct tape now removed, Joey's jaw dropped (not only from surprise but also because Seto looked fantastic in nearly gray jeans and a soft looking black shirt).

Seto smiled slightly at the almost vacant look Joey's face assumed. "Can we talk now?"

Joey shook his head, looking almost desperate and pointing to the clock to show how little time was left.

For a moment they sat in each other's silence. Joey nervous, Seto angry. This would be the ideal time to talk, solitude and no fear of interruptions. In twenty minutes Joey would have to address the crowd and start working, so really, there was no knowing when they'd be given another chance like this.

Though neither of them felt comfortable with their own actions, they did both feel justified. Seto, hurt, felt the burn of rejection and Joey, stubborn and loyal, felt torn between his feelings for Seto and his promise, but in the end still could not bring himself to break it.

They also saw something in the other's view. Though Seto couldn't fathom how it could outweigh what he was trying to say, he understood Joey's commitment. Joey, meanwhile, felt how much pain he must be causing Seto with each denial. He wanted this so badly (though he'd never thought very highly about himself, he was no idiot and was beginning to guess what this was about), but what kind of start would it be if he broke his promise for Seto? Was that really what he wanted a relationship to be founded on?

At Joey's new look of resolved determination something in Seto seemed to snap and his normal articulateness was broken into half sentences based on disjointed thoughts.

"Why-(wont you just talk?). This has-(been torture). I can-('t even believe I'm doing this). Do y-(ou even know what I've been going through?). (For) weeks!" This whole time he'd been stepping closer to Joey. "Joey I-"

Seto interrupted himself and mashed his lips against Joey's in an awkward kiss. Then, shocked at what he'd done, and torn between pulling away and continuing, he froze against the other boy's mouth.

Initially Joey seemed equally shocked, but recovered more quickly than Seto. This was it. This meant Seto was ready. This meant Seto wanted him and cared enough about him to ignore the risks. His arms, which had hung uselessly at his sides, now snaked their way to Seto's waist, bringing their bodies closer.

The burn of this new contact spread though them like a deep blush, and now, gripping Seto's shirt, afraid that the moment would end and Seto would pull away, he kissed back.

If Seto hadn't known upon kissing Joey that he was gay, the purely masculine sound that rumbled though the other boy's chest would have now convinced him.

This was nothing like the kisses he'd had with spit girl.

This was addictive. It was a drug flowing through his veins.

He had always seen kissing as a means to an end. Now he saw it as a destination rather than a road. Or maybe he had just come to understand the great pleasure in a journey with the right company.

Joey's tongue slipped past his lips, playing just inside Seto's mouth, teasing him into a playful sparing match. It was another thing he'd never understood, why you would ever want someone else's tongue inside your mouth? It had always seemed awkward and cumbersome, not to mention unhygienic.

But now he knew and it ached. It felt like Joey was drawing out his soul.

This was true interaction. It was something he couldn't fake.

Kissing Joey was just that, kissing JOEY. Never before had he felt an attachment like this. Spit girl had been convenient, she could have been anyone and Seto wouldn't have cared, but now he couldn't imagine this with anyone but Joey.

The kiss had him chanting the blonde's name like a mantra. Anything less would be blasphemy.

Within seconds of Joey adding depth to the kiss, Seto realized something else. Something important. Joey did not taste like cinnamon or vanilla, like chocolate or honey, he didn't taste like cherries or home. The blonde boy tasted like mouth. Like mouth and a bit of mint, as though he had brushed his teeth or chewed gum recently. It wasn't a bad taste, but it wasn't magical either. It was human, and it was perfect.

The feeling of their lips meeting, sliding together, it didn't send shots of blue lightning through their bodies nor did it feel as though there were flying insects in his stomach. I didn't bring on an epiphany of the deep love they had always harbored for each other and hidden for fear of rejection. It did warm Seto though, it made him slightly dizzy and blurred his thoughts. It was a good feeling, and as these types of good feelings do, it eventually (as tongues continued to slide against each other, not in a battle for dominance, but a search for mutual pleasure) began a strain on Seto's pants.

Meanwhile Joey was thinking a few things. The foremost in his mind was this: Seto Kaiba was not a good kisser.

The second was that that was awesome.

He had no technique and was raw and inexperienced, but he was eager to learn and had gone for it despite his natural uncertainties.

Third was: This was easily the best kiss of his young life.

It had been a long time since he'd last kissed someone, but he clearly remembered that it had been nothing like this. Somehow the feel of Seto's tentative kiss was unlike anything he'd ever experienced.

He couldn't help but like the boy even more for his ineptitude. It was an endearing weakness and some that spoke volumes. It was undoubtedly Seto's first kiss with a man, something that Joey could not take lightly, rather, he felt it was one of the greatest compliments he had yet received.

As always with Kaiba there was lots of potential, not to mention that in this (as in all things) he was a quick study and hungry to learn. Already he was improving.

But before it had really become something, it was over. Seto pulled back and stared at Joey breathing unevenly. He shifted uncomfortably, not sure whether he should step away or closer, finally settling for remaining where he was, with one of Joey's hands still fisted in his shirt.

After a long and awkward (as such a pause was expected to be) he pulled the blonde to his chest in an awkward embrace, resting his chin atop the other boy's head.

Seto now understood why people wanted this engagement. There was something in this hesitant exploration, caring about the person and wanting to discover more.

"Joey…I…" He curled his fingers into hair at the nape of Joey's neck, wondering at how natural it felt. "I want…Can we try this?"

Joey pulled back enough to meet Seto's eyes and smiled, nodding.

An honest, warm smile spread across Seto's face and again his mind was so inundated, so addled as to limit his capabilities of speech. "I'm-(not good at this kind of thing). I've n-(ever tried). I- (want to try)."

Joey felt dizzy with his feelings. The fact that Seto was unable to express his thoughts was as meaningful as if he'd been able to clearly articulate them. Seto was standing straight now and Joey had to stand on the balls of his feet to kiss him soundly. This kiss was shorter than the first.

When they parted Seto finally managed a full sentence. "I like you."

Joey didn't answer, but hugged Seto even more tightly.

Seto however, fully expecting a reply (and slightly fearful that this might mean Joey was only interested in him physically) pulled back to meet Joey's gaze.

Joey looked at him pleadingly, his amber eyes shining, as if to say, "You know I do, you know I want to tell you, but you also know I can't." And for some reason, the stubbornness that Seto had come to admire in the blonde, now frustrated him to no end and at once red hot and ice cold rage flooded his blood like poison.

Joey placed a finger against Seto's lips to quiet him. Seto jerked away.

"Don't tell me to be quiet! You're doing enough of that for both of us! I go out on a fucking limb and you don't care enough to talk. Is your cause really more important than what just happened?" Joey still didn't speak but averted his eyes in shame. "Nice to know where your priorities are. Nice to know I fall under politics." Anger restored the power of speech.

Joey stood there pale and uncomfortable.

"Say something!"

He didn't speak but gave the most expressive look he could, begging for understanding but Seto had already turned his back and had his hand on the door.

Joey caught his arm and Seto did turn to look at him but when he saw Joey's lips still sealed he opened the door and stormed wordlessly out. Joey followed, trying to catch up to Seto's long quick steps. They made it into the hallway and Seto coldly said by way of farewell, "Tell Mokuba to call when he's ready to be picked up."

A moment later a roar erupted from the next room as the silence broke and Joey's broken voice was drowned out by the revelry. Seto didn't look back and was now walking too fast for Joey to catch him. All he could do, and really, what he had to do, was go back to the celebration, make his speech and hope that when Seto cooled down he would again be willing to talk.

It chilled him though, doubting how likely that would be.

:End Chapter:


	37. The Sound

Author's Note: You thought I was dead, didn't you? That or you simply forgot I existed to begin with (probably the latter). Anyway, yeah…so this has been the worst semester thus far in my college experience so I hope you'll go a little easy on me. Anyway, I'm still not really back to myself yet, so this chapter might be a little sub-par.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Disclaimer: I do not own YuGiOh and I make no profit from this work.

Fair Play

Chapter 17: The Sound

Seto turned a corner and sank into the wall, praying that Joey wouldn't follow.

When only his words did, Seto felt a flush of relief with a pang of regret. He had overestimated Joey, he hadn't cared enough to break the silence and now he didn't care enough to chase after him.

Plastering on his patented fake smile, Joey ascended the stage. He graciously took the mic from Todd and began his now abridged speech.

"I know we just made it through a day of silence and all we want is to scream and start the party, but I need to ask your quiet and attention for a few minutes first. I want to thank you all for being here and for your dedication. We have been silent for far too long and your actions today proved how many people have carried this weight. Though there are many of us who aren't ready to take part, I believe that all of us who did made a difference today. Every year we see less resistance, more support." He took a deep breath. "One day of the year we are silent, for the rest of it we are loud and proud. It is our duty to spread awareness and encourage tolerance. Again, thank you all."

There was another tumult of cheering.

"I also have a few announcements to make. Some of you may have already heard, but the DCPA has received a substantial donation from Hedeiki Sagawa and with that money we will be buying our own space, somewhere to call our own, where people can break doors without risking our security deposit." He grinned down at Bakura while his eyes burned with unshed tears. "We don't have any set plans, just a lot of ideas and hopes. Hopes that Mr. Sagawa and all of you are making real every day. Thank you all again, and enjoy the party!" He smiled again and handed the mic back to Todd, who took over slightly over-zealously as Joey left the stage.

The blonde made his way through the crowd, graciously accepting congratulations, hand shakes and hugs, but all the while his mind was focused on one goal: Make it to the office without crying.

It was a close call, but he didn't break down until he heard the comforting click of the door.

There was a wrench of twisting guilt in his stomach. He'd always though Seto would be the one with skewed priorities.

It was Tahnya that found him there, back against his desk and jaw set.

__________________________________________________________

::Kaiba Mansion::

For the first time in five years, Seto cried.

It wasn't much, a few reluctant tears, some wet snuffling noises and the burning of damp tracks on his cheeks.

He had been hurt worse, broken worse, but never by someone he had come to care about. So in a way this pained him more than when his soul had been shattered on the floor of his mind. Before there had always been the comfort that the trust had been given out of necessity. It stung so much more to be betrayed by someone to who it had been freely given.

Anger still boiled inside him and his nails dug bloody crescent moons into his palms.

He thought bitterly about the kiss and all it had made him feel. In the bath room he bushed his teeth until his gums bled. He stared into the mirror, questioning himself, questioning everything, before giving up in disgust and showering until he was sure there was nothing of Joey left on him. He dried as much has he had the strength to then fell into his bed and a fitful sleep.

________________________________________________________________

::The DCPA::

When Tahnya first found him, Joey was sitting against, rather than at his desk.

His eyes were puffy, red rimmed, bloodshot and he tried desperately (though futilely) to stop his nose from running.

He gave a rattling gasp against the tears and snot (as though air was all he needed to speak). After several tried he managed to say to the shocked Tahnya, "I fucked up."

She stood there a moment longer (having never seen Joey discomposed by anything but embarrassment or lust), before sitting next to him pulling him to her chest. For once he didn't protest the proximity to her breasts, nor did he react when she dialed her phone.

It took a minute but Mokuba, yelling and confused in the dance outside, answered.

Tahnya managed to convey without screaming in Joey's ears, that something was wrong and Mokuba should come to the office.

He dramatically burst through the door within seconds, and was on the floor next to Joey and Tahnya before asking for any explanation.

At Mokuba's comforting hand Joey crying redoubled. "What did Seto do?"

The only response (aside from more tears) was from Tahnya.

"Why do you think Seto did something?"

"Well, aside from not seeing him out there and Joey crying," He said sarcastically, "Seto is a stupid fuck, I expect him to fuck up stupidly."

Tahnya shrugged as though this was reasonable and continued rubbing Joey's back.

"Should I get the others?" He ventured.

At no negative from Joey, he went, first heading outside with his cell.

Seto's voicemail greeted him with it's usual lack of enthusiasm.

"Seto, goddamnit, pick the fuck up. Joey is really upset and while I know it was both of your stupid faults, I need to know what happened and he can't tell me. What happened between you too? Are you ok? I'm going to try and help Joey calm down then come home, I wont be long. Please call me back."

Clicking it shut and pocketing it with a cathartic overuse of force, he went back in to find the others.

Luckily it wasn't difficult. They were all dancing in close proximity (with Ryou and Bakura more in the shadows than the others). He screamed and signed over the din for them to follow, leaving them less prepared than he was upon entering the office.

Yugi was immediately on the floor with Tahnya and Ryou was only a beat after him. Duke looked confused and unsure while Yami, Tristan and Bakura demanded as one to know what was going on.

Without an answer they all seemed to come to the same conclusion as Mokuba. Seto had done something to hurt Joey. To this they added, and now he has to pay.

It would not be unfair to say this was a rather masculine response, looking for a solution rather than analyzing the problem. Sadly their idea of a solution would only injure their fists, sooth their egos and in the end, do even more harm to Joey.

Tahnya, Ryou and Yugi took a more holistic approach. Rather than treating the symptoms they wanted to fix the root cause. They had seen how Seto felt for Joey and knew that he was probably suffering as well, they also knew that the only way to make this better started with calming Joey down enough to talk.

____________________________________________________________________::Kaiba Mansion::

Seto watched his phone dance across the night stand, the front screen lit up with Mokuba's face.

He had no plans to answer (he was unsure of his voice and less sure of his temper) but listened to the message (the third) when it appeared.

Somehow (though he was clearly growing more and more frustrated with each call) Mokuba managed to sound both angry and understanding. Still, his obvious worry overshadowed any other emotions he was harboring.

He stared at the now dark phone with no sense of time until he heard his brother's voice outside the door.

He pleaded.

He goaded.

He threatened.

He whined.

He tried every method that had ever worked on his brother. None of them succeeded.

When silence fell between them, both realized an impasse had been reached.

Seto heard Mokuba settle down on the other side of the door. Clearly the significance of an impasse was lost on Mokuba.

"You can't stay in there forever." He said as though it were a matter of fact.

Seto rolled his eyes, hearing an echo of himself in his brother's voice.

"No, not forever, but the panic room has enough food to last me a while."

Seto could hear the smirk in Mokuba's voice. "I changed the code."

Seto cursed under his breath and opened the door, knowing it was too much effort to start a cyber war with his brother right now.

Mokuba's eyebrows disappeared into his hairline. "You look like hell."

"Thanks." He said, turning to his dresser to add something to the boxers he was wearing.

"Like, road work in hell." He continued.

"I know."

Mokuba had still not composed himself enough to say anything else by the time Seto was dressed and left the room. He did however, have the presence of mind to follow, while still meditating on the now obvious magnitude of Seto's feelings for Joey.

When Seto had finally sat down in the kitchen to prod at the bowl of oatmeal he just made, Mokuba tried again. "What happened?"

"He wouldn't talk to me. I got angry. I kissed him. He still wouldn't talk to me. I got more angry. I yelled. I left." He said each sentence as though it were just a cold fact, distancing himself from the pain by making himself an observer rather than the injured participant he was.

Mokuba sighed. "I'm sorry. If I'd thought he'd be that stubborn about it I would have warned you, but I never thought about it."

Seto didn't say anything but continued playing with his oatmeal.

"This might not help, but I saw him afterwards. I think not talking to you was one of the hardest things he's ever done."

Seto continued in silence, but drops began rolling down his cheeks from behind his bangs.

When he finally pushed his food away uneaten, and cradled his face in his hands, Mokuba went to the freezer for ice cream. Habit to facilitate conversation and cold to numb the pain.

::End Chapter::


	38. Expert Opinions

Author's Note: And now for something completely different! Updates! Woot!

Disclaimer: Do not own Yugioh. Tahnya however is mine.

Bee-Tee-Dubs, happy belated Valentine's Day.

Fair Play

Chapter 18: Expert Opinions

Any anthropologist will tell you that traditions and rituals are powerful things. It is not the motions done or the words said that are important, those are just symbols, it is the faith people have in them. It is the conviction that this will make things right. Even in our modern world of gleaming and sterile science we hold out hope for a little magic. We want to believe that ritual will save us from the fearful unknown and the painful present.

It was this tenuous hope that Mokuba carried, along with two bowls of ice cream, to his brother's side.

"Are you going to talk to him?" He finally asked when it became clear that Seto was not equipped to generate conversation at the moment.

"Not if I can avoid it, no."

His brother sighed. "I'm not going to say I think that's…" He searched for the phrase he wanted, but came up short, "a wise decision, but I'm also not going to say I know what you should do. I do need to know though, are you going to be ok with my still hanging out with Joey?"

Seto looked up from his melting ice cream, puzzled. "Why would that bother me?"

Mokuba cocked an eyebrow. "Most people expect their friends and family to be mad at the people they're mad at. Like your enemy's enemy is your friend, your friend's enemy is your enemy."

Seto shook his head. "Maybe if the situation were different I'd feel like that, but he's been a good friend to you and I'm not going to ask you to give that up. What happened between me and him is…separate."

"You have a freakish ability to compartmentalize."

"Aren't you thrilled?" He smirked.

"For once I suppose."

Sunday found everyone at Joey's, trying to convince him of what they each thought was the best course of action.

Now any psychologist will tell you that in a crisis people tend to show their true nature. It is who we are in those dire moments that matters most. We can look to this as proof that people as a whole are not selfish evil things. For Tahnya it meant soothing Joey with soft words. With Bakura however we find proof of the darkness in this world (however well intentioned it claims to be) and the results were not so pleasant. The schemas he reverted to, the ones he'd been trained to think the best were of the "send it to the shadow realm first, ask questions later" variety.

"I'm going to cut off his balls, put them in a waffle iron, nail one to his door and force the other down his throat."

Even those who's thoughts had tended towards violence cringed and were ever so slightly pacified.

Mokuba looked the most horrified of the group. "Have you even heard of the guy code? Thou shalt not even think of injuring another guy's balls!"

Bakura gave a scowl of enjoyment. "My rule trumps that: You fuck with my friends, I fuck back."

Yami had a look on his face that seemed to speak a concurrence of thought, and slight shock at it being between himself and Bakura.

If they had their way, Seto Kaiba will have fucked his last and Joey spent energy he didn't really have convincing them that that wasn't want he wanted.

When we are at our most vulnerable we are also at our most primal. We tend to react without thinking, guided by the instincts we proudly claim to have lost in becoming civilized. The instinct taking over Joey right now was probably not best suited for the times of saber-toothed tigers, but in the safety of his apartment curling up and crying was perfectly acceptable.

Though professionals might read more into it, it was not difficult to guess what Seto and Joey were feeling at this point. Simplicity of emotion however, says nothing about its depth or intensity.

Joey, with all the stupid mistakes he'd made in his life, had never known regret like this.

And Seto, with all the hurt and hardships he'd been through, had never felt such a poignant or more personal pain. He had known frustration, rage and resolution as a result of his injuries but never this all consuming sorrow. Normally his trials were like a hammer to hot iron, making it stronger and forging it into something useful, this was more akin to a hammer on kneecaps. Crippling.

All the exhaustion of nearly ten years of late nights, early mornings and few days off caught up with him.

::End Chapter::

Author's Note: Please forgive me for the crappy and short chapter, but I had most of this written and couldn't bring myself to get rid of it. So I did my best to salvage it and am going to get a fresh start with the next chapter.


	39. 2020

Author's Note: Another update? So soon? It must be a hallucination, though on my part or yours I'm not sure…

Also, I made some changes, not to where this is going but to how it's going to get there, I'm thinking when I've finished all of this I might post that version of things to. … Anyway, on with the ficage.

One last thing! Please review! I'm on the alert list of so many people and that's flattering but I really love to hear what you guys think, even if it's just what lines you liked (actually, especially that).

Disclaimer: I don't own YuGiOh, but I do own the DCPA, Tahnya and Gia's Pizza.

Fair Play

Chapter 19: 20/20

Over the past few years the group dynamic had changed. In many ways it was for the better and they were better for it, but while as a whole they were closer, the individual friendships that first brought them together were being neglected.

It was to be expected though. Where once Joey was only truly close to Tristan and Yugi, there were now many others he felt just as much for. At the same time, Yugi and Tristan's affections were now divided between friends, family and their respective lovers.

Love may not be a finite resource, but time and energy are, and it was much more economic to spend time with everyone at once than individually.

So it was a testament to the severity of the situation when Yugi, for the first time in some time, came over to Joey's alone after school.

Yugi sat with his legs under him on the sofa as Joey paced the floor, wishing he had a white board to map out what he was feeling.

"You should go to him." He finally piped up.

"And what, scale the fence? Out run the dogs? Dodge security and break into the house? Find Seto, fall down exhausted in front of him, pledge my undying love and blather on about how stupid I was and will he take me back?"

"If that's what it takes."

Joey fell to the couch with a sigh and a roll of his eyes. "You make it sound so easy."

"Does he really have attack dogs?"

Joey shook his head.

"Well, no offense then, but you have it easier than some of us did."

Joey cocked an eyebrow. "Have you met Seto? Time travel has nothing on him."

"Good point."

"Yeah, getting to his house would be easy compared to that."

"Or you could just ask Mokuba to have security let you in."

Joey gave him a look of disbelief. "Really, Yug? You couldn't have told me this before I made a mental list of where to find a grappling hook?"

_____Because the lines didn't show up again last time and I need a divider______

"Joey's worried."

"Hn." Seto replied, not looking up from his book.

"He wants to talk to you."

"He'll get used to disappointment."

Mokuba sighed and began to walk away. "Why should he? You haven't."

A pained look took over Seto's face and Mokuba, looking back, hurt for him.

_____Because the lines didn't show up again last time and I need a divider______

Yugi eventually left, hugging Joey and reminding him that after all they'd been through, this should be a snap (mind you, this was a poor analogy as Joey never could snap his fingers).

He locked the door and went with a book to the window seat. Rather than opening the escapist drivel he'd grabbed, he looked across the Domino skyline at the Kaiba Corp building, wondering if Kaiba had spend his day there or at home.

Though most would view their current situation as a decided step backwards, Joey marveled at where they'd been just before this. How had so much changed in a few short months?

There was the sound of an aircraft passing overhead and he was forcibly taken back to three years ago, just after duelist kingdom.

Seto, in an uncharacteristically (though understandably) giving mood, was taking them back to Domino via helicopter. The excitement of the tournament and the novelty of a helicopter ran high initially, but it wore off quickly and it wasn't long before he and Seto were the only ones still awake. Even with the other's there (some snoring loud enough to wake the dead), Joey felt so alone with him and even on opposite seats, so close. Still uncomfortable in his own skin as a gangly, awkward gay youth and inexplicably attracted to the boy across from him, it took everything he had to keep his voice from shaking when he finally found the courage to say, "Thank you."

Seto looked surprised at the sound of Joey's voice (though only because he'd been expecting him to speak much sooner). He nodded in reply.

A little while later Joey continued hesitantly. "I guess we both get to be our sibling's hero."

It was now Joey's turn to be shocked. Seto smiled. It was small and slow to form, but it was genuine and full of love. He ruffled his brother's hair and said, "Yeah, I guess we do." No sly comment about how Yugi had done all the work, about Joey's abilities (or lack thereof), just that smile. Joey blushed, recalling what he'd thought then, that he would give anything to see Seto smile that way for him.

::End Chapter::

Sorry for another short one. The next has action, I promise.


	40. Behind Every Great Man is an MTF

Author's Note: This chapter is dedicated to Substandard Producer, who left one of the most unique reviews in fanfiction history. I commend and thank you. ^_^ And I do realize that this is essentially an act of appeasement, but as we can't have you deleting all the Seto/Joey fics on the internet, I see no other choice.

As a status update on my life, I was planning on taking a nap before writing this, but my roommate is having a huge fight with her mom on the phone and doesn't see a reason to leave the room. Also, its finals week but I have six days until my next final, which means reading, writing, packing, crafting and possibly a trip into New York to visit family and stock up on craft supplies.

All previous disclaimers still apply.

Fair Play

Chapter 20: Behind Every Great Man is an MTF

Joey, feeling that it was the proper thing to do in cases such as this, continued to stare longingly out the window for some time. The effect was limited. Perhaps if instead of a looming cityscape his gaze had been fixed on the rolling moors of northern England…

He sighed again, and as if his life had finally caught on to the dramatic tone he was feeling, a knock came at his door. There were three sharp but dainty raps, a pause, then three more. Joey didn't move, partly from not really wanting company and partly because he knew it was Tahnya and that she would come in on her own eventually.

She knocked, waited and knocked again before noisily rifling around her oversized purse for her key. Entering and seeing him on the window seat, not twenty feet from the door she assumed the annoyed mother stance. "Why did he bother giving you legs if you're just going to sit there?"

"Why did I bother giving you a key if you're just going to stand out there and knock forever?"

She rolled her eyes. "So that if you fell and hurt yourself again while dancing in your underwear I could come and get you decent before the EMTs arrived."

Joey blushed. "Oh yeah."

"Oh yeah is right, now get up and go take a shower. You look a mess."

Joey didn't offer a verbal reply, but rather opted to shut up and do as he was told.

Tahnya seemed mildly surprised at his lack of smart remark but set to work as soon as she heard the water running.

Joey let the water run to its hottest before stepping in. As the steam billowed around him the clouds in his head cleared a little. There was something calming in routine, and in being told what to do. You can't really make a mistake when you aren't given any choices.

When he finished he cleared some of the fogged up mirror and examined his face while tousling his hair with a towel. Slowly the image before him vanished as the mirror clouded again, he shook his head and covered himself, not really sure what he'd been looking for in the first place.

When he came back into the main part of the apartment he smelled sweet tomato basil sauce and heard Tahnya bustling around his kitchen, no doubt making an unnecessarily large mess. When he came closer she turned, and blushed at the steam coming off his shirtless body. She briefly thought of fanning herself, affecting a southern accent and acting affronted but decided against it.

"So no offense, but why exactly are you here?" He asked.

"To feed you and talk. Go get dressed, I put some clothes out on your bed."

"Are you my mother now?"

"No, but if you want I can call mine over for you. I'm sure she'd take my side."

The image of Gia forcibly dressing him assaulted his mind's eye. "No thanks, I'll go."

On his bed he found an outfit he'd never seen before. "Where did these come from?"  
"They're a gift. Put them on and get out here, the pasta's almost done."

He cocked his head to the side in general incredulity. "Do you really think I can pull off a cardigan?"

She rolled her eyes. "You really are a gay man…its geek chic, put it on."

Again he silently submitted, putting the black cardigan on over the almost silvery grey and white pinstripe shirt and ash grey jeans.

He finally stepped out, still toweling his hair. "I look like a rain cloud."

She snorted, placing two bowls of pasta on the table. "Not as much as you did earlier."

He sat and proceeded to harass his pasta with his fork. "So what is this talk we need to have?"

She frowned a little at his directness. "I'm doing what my parents would do for me. You need it." Though this didn't answer his question, he let it and all it implied sink in. His parents weren't in his life anymore, even if they were he didn't think they'd do anything like this for him, and he needed this kind of support. He finally nodded in understanding.

She continued, telling a story by way of explanation. "I was really young the first time I had my heart broken." She got the dreamy look that told him that however young she'd been, the emotion had been real. "Back then my parents just thought I was gay. My dad told me to man up, and tell the boy how I felt. It was valentine's day and we'd made little mail boxes for people to put our cards in…when we went through our cards I found the one I'd made him in my box, in little pieces. My mom cooked nothing but my favorite foods for a week after that." She smiled a little.

"So you're using food to heal my pain?" He said, finally eating a little.

"No, I'm feeding you before telling you to man up."

At this Joey began to choke. "Excuse me?"

"You've cried, you've moped, now man the fuck up. You two have nothing but your own douche-baggary keeping you apart. You're not a little girl trapped in a little boy's body being told your feelings are disgusting. You're just two idiots with a piece of tissue paper between you and neither one wants to make the effort to tear it." Joey flushed at this but held his tongue. "So grow a set, drive them over to Kaiba's and make things right!"

Joey didn't move, and didn't say anything for so long that Tahnya began to think he was mad at her. "What if he still hates me?"

"Then you have nothing to regret. You'll have closure. You won't have lost anything and you'll have pasta to come home to." She said matter -of-factly.

Not being able to argue with that, Joey finished the rest of his pasta with a glint of determination in his eye and got ready to leave.

His hand on the door, he experienced a moment of awkwardness he'd never felt with Tahnya before. His voice caught and refused to say the things he wanted it to. Instead he managed, "Thanks for the clothes."

She smiled back. "I already told Mokuba to let the guards off for the night. I'll let myself out."  
With another smile Joey headed out into the night full of the intent to crack heads with destiny.

::End Chapter::

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW.


	41. The Begining of The End

Author's Note: As much as I adore my boyfriend I can't get shit done with him around not to mention the constant douche-baggary of his brother and neurotic shit flipping of his mom, so I'm home for a few days of comparative rest and relaxation. So welcome back, my apologies for not writing sooner and I hope you enjoy one of the last chapters of Fair Play.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, I do however own Tahnya, Gia's pizza ect.

Fair Play

Chapter 21: The Begining of The End

While Joey's apartment wasn't in a particularly bad part of town, it was still some distance from the posh neighborhood the Kaiba's lived in. This was both good and bad. The drive gave him a chance to hope and a chance to brood. Naturally he did much more of the latter. The bout of self deprecation began with, 'You really fucked up massively this time, Joey.'

He expected nothing less than open hostility from Seto and he couldn't bring himself to say he didn't deserve it. After all, Seto had laid everything on the line and Joey had ignored it for politics. Hindsight being what it was, he had no idea what he'd been thinking that day.

Fortunately there was little traffic and the drive went quickly, limiting the time his thoughts had to prey on him.

He rolled down the window as he approached the gate. The guard post was empty but a speaker on the vacant shack crackled to life and greeted him with a digitized voice.

"Good evening. Your name, please?"

"J-Joey Wheeler."

"Full name please."

Joey cocked an eyebrow and without stopping to wonder if the machine would be able to reply he asked, "Why?"

"Names must be given as they appear on birth certificates, so if not found in my database, a background check may be done. Your full name please."

"Joseph James Wheeler."

"Welcome, Mr. Wheeler. Please wait until the gates are fully open before entering."

Joey breathed a sigh of relief and did as the computer said before pulling forward.

The crunch of the stones beneath his tires soothed him slightly as he went up the long drive to the mansion.

A little more than half way up he parked and sat for a moment, slowing his breath. He wanted to walk the rest of the way to the house to calm his nerves.

There was a warm breeze rustling in the trees and the grass beneath his feet was lush and thick. For a moment he paused and surveyed the grounds. In the moonlight it was especially picturesque, and brought to mind a quote from a favourite book of his. He smiled wryly, "And of all this I might have been mistress." He hoped his and Seto's story might reach a similar conclusion.

He continued to make his way up the winding drive and finally found himself at the front steps. He climbed them slowly, delaying his inevitable meeting with the door, and Seto. Finally he stood before it and with no choice but to knock or retreat (and Joey Wheeler does not retreat), so he gave a series of deliberate raps at the door.

At first he heard nothing but the wind in the trees, then the creak of a floor board just beyond the door and the slow metallic glide of the door unlocking.

It swung open to reveal Seto in lounge pants and a loose, soft looking t-shirt. And it quickly became apparent that he had not looked through the peep hole before opening the door.

In the fifteen seconds immediately following Kaiba answering the door, Joey felt he saw more emotions cross his face than in the entire sum of their acquaintance.

Initially: blue eyes up in a half roll, mouth straight and posture saying, 'answering the door is so beneath me.'

Then for just an instant as his jaw dropped, his eyes softened with pain and a small measure of affection.

Eyebrows then rose in confusion, only to quickly pull down and together as lips drained of color from pressing together. One corner quirked up in a derisive sneer and with a loud slam Joey found himself facing a large slab of oak that someone had rudely affixed to hinges and formed into a door.

Having expected something very much like this, Joey knocked again. He heard the creak of weight leaving the floor board and the unintelligible sounds of Seto yelling, and Mokuba trying to calm him.

Joey glanced around for the mail slot, flicked it open and brought himself to it's level, calling into it. "Please let me in Seto, I just want to talk."

Through the small slit he saw Seto stand rigid with shock and fury. As he stomped out of the room he managed to spit with as much venom as he could muster at Joey, "You want to talk? Funny, I don't remember you being all that much for it." He returned a moment later with a roll of duct tape. Joey's sole method of communication was quickly cut off by the sticky slivery strips. He tried to call through the door anyway.

"You might not know it, but I'm not a huge fan of irony!"

His only reply was the sound of Seto's footsteps leading away from the door. He thought about finding a stick or something to remove the duct tape, but soon thought better of it. It would probably just earn him a thorough ass kicking from Seto.

He instead turned to a tool of our modern man, and dialed Mokuba's cell phone number. The boy answered on the second ring.

"Hey, Mokie. Can you tell your brother I'm not leaving?"

"Sure," the sound became slightly muffled, "Seto? Joey says he's not leaving."

He heard Seto's voice coming from a distance, but couldn't understand the words.

Thankfully Mokuba spoke in a way that filled in the blanks. "You can't do that Seto, the guards have the night off."

Another line from Seto.

"Not the police either, he's not trespassing, the computer let him in."

Seto again, much louder.

"I added him to the welcome database after the last time he visited."

Joey shouted into his phone so Mokuba could hear with his away from his ear. "Tell him I just want to talk."

"Kay. Seto, he just wants to talk to you."

A short burst of incomprehensible syllables from Seto.

"Is that even possible? Joey, Seto kindly suggests you perform new and creative sex acts on yourself."

Joey rolled his eyes. "Ask him to let me in, please?"

"Joey says please let him in to talk to you."

Almost intelligible words from Seto.

"Such ingenuity Seto! Joey, my brother would like you to shov-mmph."

Seto scolding him, sounding much closer to the receiver now.

"Well, if I'm not allowed to say it then you probably shouldn't give me it as a message for him."

Joey smiled a little bit, their antics helping with the sick lurching that had started in his stomach. "Could you just let me in, Mokie?"

"Can't. Seto said if I did I'd be so grounded that life as a priest would seem an exciting alternative."

"Ouch."

"Yeah, sorry."

"It's ok, I didn't figure it was going to be that easy. Just tell him I'll be out here when he's ready to talk."

"Are you serious?"

"As a seizure. I'll stay here all night."

"You don't think this isn't a little dramatic?"

"Well yeah, but when have Seto and I ever been subtle?"

You could practically see Mokuba shaking his head at the proceedings. "Subtle like a brick, Joey." He sighed. "I'll tell him, but don't get your hopes up."

"Don't worry, I've got a plan."

The tone of Joey's voice made Mokuba dread whatever was to come. It was the voice that proposed something that would later end up on America's Funniest Home Videos. It was the voice used before a stunt on Jackass. It was a voice speaking some of its last words. "I don't even want to know, do I?"

The smirk was audible in Joey's voice. "You'll find out soon enough."

The phone clicked off and a moment later the most ferocious banging started at the door. Seto was immediately on his feet and yelling at Joey to stop that racket and get off his porch (sounding very much the crotchety old man).

Joey promptly stopped and called out. "Are you going to let me in?"

"Fuck no." Came the succinct reply.

"Alright then." He cleared his throat and began to belt out the first song that came to mind. "OH WHAT A NIGHT! WHAT A BEAUTIFUL NIGHT! AND THEY CALL IT BELLA NOTE!"

Let us take time out at this juncture to note that Joey Wheeler can sing, but only when it suits him. On stage he has the ability to entrance, but dancing around his kitchen he chose to sing as obnoxiously as was humanly possible. Bakura had once compared his 'for fun' singing voice to angry cats on chalkboard rafts in the middle of a bad storm at sea, the comparison made, Bakura decided he would prefer to listen to the cats.

Seto was immediately back at the door. "What kind of sick animal sacrifice are you performing out there?! Nothing should ever make that noise!"

Joey smiled a little, humor, even sarcastic humor, was a good sign. "Are you going to let me in?"

Seto just growled and stomped away from the door.

Mokuba meanwhile, sat on the sofa trying very hard not to laugh, shaking his head in bemused exasperation.

The banging began again and the cycle continued.

When Joey had been outside for over an hour and began yet another round of banging on the door, Seto's composure cracked. He had listened to rounds of several Christmas carols, Luck Be a Lady, All By Myself (which was easily the most painful), all interspersed with loud banging.

"Mokuba, will you get your idiot friend to stop?!"

Mokuba didn't go to the door but instead philosophically replied. "You know, you can be friends with an idiot with no problems, but you can't love one without it saying something about you."

Seto felt it was best not to honor this with a response and in turn Mokuba didn't mention that Seto could have elsewhere in the house, where the noise wasn't so bad.

In the end it was a mix of virtue and vice that led Seto to let Joey in.

Joey was patient (Seto would call it something much less kind). But this only meant that Joey was still on the other side of the door when Seto opened it.

The actual opening was due to Seto's wrath and a splitting headache. Before Joey's arrival his anger from the day of silence had slightly cooled, but Joey's incessant pounding had brought it to a boil and annoyed him into action.

When he saw his brother move for the door, Mokuba was torn between fleeing to the safety of his room and staying as a mediator or witness, whichever was needed. In the end he stood his ground.

When Seto opened the door in the middle of a series of bangs Joey fell into the house backwards from a sitting position on the porch, revealing that for some time he'd been making all of that noise with his head.

Even Seto was too surprised at first to make a comment about Joey's hardheadedness. Mokuba managed a snort, which earned him an evil look from his brother.

The sheer ridiculousness of Joey's position on the floor and the look of shy affection in those watery brown eyes melted away a portion of Seto's anger. He finally rolled his eyes and walked away, returning a moment later to an anxious Joey leaning against the now closed door. He held out three pills and a glass of water.

Joey took the medicine with hesitation, but once in his hand he downed it quickly. "Thanks." He rasped, his voice hoarse from sing-yelling through the door. He gratefully took another sip of the water.

"We've butted heads enough for me to know how hard it is, but even your thick skull would hurt after that."

Joey crinkled his nose to convey his mild annoyance, an expression that Seto found strangely endearing. He then noticed Joey staring at something past his shoulder and without turning knew it was Mokuba, peeking out from the living room, looking like nothing so much as a child trying to catch Santa Clause. "Please go up to your room, Mokuba. I'll be in to say goodnight later."

Without a word Mokuba flashed Joey an encouraging grin and scampered off to his room.

Seto made his way into the sitting room and vaguely motioned for Joey to follow.

Sitting down on the sofa, Joey was quiet for a moment, somewhat hoping that the pain killers would kick in before the silence became awkward and they had to speak. They didn't.

He sighed and heard it echoed in Seto's deeper tone.

"I'm sorry." He finally said. "You were right about my priorities. I fucked up epically."

Seto didn't say anything, thinking it was impolite to simply agree, but also unable to deny it.

After a long and uncomfortable pause on his part, Joey continued. "If you want me to leave you alone after tonight, I understand, but to live with myself I need you to hear me out now." Seto didn't object, so Joey went on. "I'm sorry for hurting you. I didn't think about how much you were risking, putting yourself out there and how little it would take me to meet you half way. I really can't justify not talking to you that day, and I don't have an excuse. I did something stupid and I'm stubborn and obnoxious and don't deserve you..." He was rambling now and realizing it, took a deep breath. "I like you too. A lot actually…" He sighed as though dropping a heavy burden. "And I wanted to know if I could still take you up on that whole 'trying this' offer…because I'd like too. Try this with you, I mean. Try dating."

Seto gave a bemused smile as Joey's mouth ran away with him again but hid it behind a slight frown when the boy looked up at him.

It was not the first time that Seto found himself struck by the honest emotion in Joey's eyes. You couldn't fake sincerity like that. But Seto wondered, was sincerity enough? If things had started off this badly, would they continue so? Would there be enough good times to make this pain worth it? Was Joey worth risking so much, the friendships he'd made, the life he'd built, his business, his success, his heart? Having only recently discovered it's existence he wasn't sure if it was something he could stand to lose.

::End Chapter::

Author's Note:

I know I'm leaving you with a cliff hanger of doom, but this chapter is already fairly long and I should be able to post again soon. The next chapter will be the last chapter of Fair Play.

If you have the time, please go to my profile and check out the new poll, it will give me some useful feedback.


	42. The End of The Begining

Author's Note:

Welcome to the final chapter of Fair Play. I would like to extend my thanks to everyone that stuck with the story over the last three years (I honestly can't believe it's been that long). I'm glad I could brighten so many people's days with this. There will be a sequel to Fair Play, but I'll also be putting some more effort into my other unfinished stories. I hope this chapter finds you well and doesn't disappoint.

-Little Miss Reaper

Author's Note from several months later: I have rewritten this thing to fuck and back and am still not satisfied. This will be my last attempt, after which I'll just post it and make up for it in the sequel.

Fair Play

Chapter 22: The End of the Beginning

Seto had the distinct impression that Joey knew exactly what he was thinking. This was confirmed when Joey suddenly looked away and stood. He shoved his hands in his jacket pockets to hide the shaking and his eyes were shining with unshed tears, but he tried hard to force a smile for Seto.

"It's ok. I understand." The stiff smile and wobbling lower lip made talking difficult, but he managed to continue. "I know its cliché, but I'd really like to be friends, I just need some time…"

Seto just stared at his feet, mind racing. He was weighing pros and cons, calculating probabilities. When Joey made to leave, Seto's hand shot out and grabbed his wrist. Seto stared at it, surprised, as he hadn't consciously reached a decision yet. Planning to let go and apologize, when he opened his mouth something entirely different came out.

"Don't go."

He released Joey's wrist and stood. "I-" He stumbled over his words and rubbed anxiously at the bridge of his nose. "Just don't go. Give me a moment to think."

The pause extended and when, after several moments, Seto began to pace, Joey sat down with the intent of staying out of his way.

Over the course of the next ten minutes Seto would often come to an abrupt stop, look meaningfully at Joey and begin a sentence, only to cut himself off and begin walking again. Finally he stopped in front of the sofa, heaved a sigh and throwing his hands up in exasperation, let himself fall back into the seat next to Joey. "I don't know."

Joey just waited for him to continue.

"You're the only person that's ever done this to me." He sighed again. "Decisions have always been easy, but you come along and for the first time 'should' and 'want' don't mean the same thing. You look at me and the choice seems simple, but then I stop and think and the complete opposite seems right. So what am I supposed to do?" He mused.

"Flip a coin." Came the serious reply.

Seto's eyebrows threatened to become lost in his hairline. "You're joking."

Joey shook his head. "It's what I do. I flip a coin, commit myself to the decision it makes and if it feels wrong I go with the other choice."

Seto seemed to weigh this method in his mind for a moment. It was counterintuitive, slightly insane, but functional, making it completely in line with Joey's style. So when Joey offered, Seto took the coin he offered him.

He took Joey's hand for a moment as well, turned it over and held it awkwardly in his. For a moment he seemed to abandon all thoughts in favor of idly tracing patterns on Joey's palm. "This decides it then?" Joey swallowed hard and nodded.

Seto flicked the coin up and the air was filled with the tiny thrum of metal vibrations. He caught it and pressed it into the back of his hand, but didn't look. He glanced at Joey. "Call it."

"Heads we give it a go, tails we part ways."

Seto lifted his hand and revealed the coin. No presidential profile met him.

Joey swallowed hard against the lump in his throat and when he spoke his voice came out a hoarse whisper. "How do you feel?"

For a moment Joey could have sworn he saw tears welling up in those famous blue eyes, but he was quickly enfolded in strong arms. He relaxed against Seto's chest with a sound that was half sigh, half sob. He had been waiting for Seto for so long. Every step had been so hard earned. Each one was like another mountain he'd made it over, but on the other side there were always more, seemingly as far as the eye could see. Now he'd made it to the plains. There were still obstacles in the distance, but he could just rest here for a while, and when he was ready, he knew this time he wouldn't be climbing alone.

As for Seto, all he could manage to feel was relief. Wave after wave washed over him, replacing the dread of a moment before. When he'd seen the coin had landed tails his stomach had lurched and he knew. He knew he could not let go of Joey without trying.

As the emotional tempest inside him died down, Seto was left with a strange feeling, like suddenly there was sunlight in his soul. He felt as if on the edge of laugher and beamed into the soft mass of Joey's hair.

He chuckled, realizing how untrue what he'd said just minutes before was. This was the first time that 'want' and 'should' meant the same thing. This was the first choice that didn't feel like a compromise, that didn't leave him focusing on a cost.

Joey pulled back and met his gaze. "You're sure?"

Seto smiled sarcastically and brushed their lips together in a way at made his had reel, Joey parted his lips immediately, with a needy sound. He was sure.

::END::

Thank you all for reading. I realize this chapter was short and covered a huge amount of ground, but I ended it when it felt right. I plan on updating one or more of my other stories before starting of the sequel, but it should be easier to keep up with that because it won't have any overall plot aside from developing their relationship.

Thank you again. I hope I made this trip worth the while.

Peace,

Little Miss Reaper


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